The Incursean Invasion
by Sodium Acetate
Summary: My take on the episodes entitled "The Frogs of War" Ignore the note and recap at the top. This was for a tumblr page. Some scenes and quotes taken from the episode, but most are from my imagination. Please don't sue me for I have no money and I don't own Ben 10!
1. The Invasion

**The Incursean Invasion-Part 1**

Bellwood Expressway

"Hey! What's the holdup?" Ben Tennyson yelled out the window of the Plumber truck. He could see a traffic jam that seemed to stretch for miles. "Isn't this supposed to be the expressway?" he fumed. "Bellwood needs to fix this congestion!" Ben started tapping his fingers on the armrest.

"Cut that out Ben!" said Rook Blanco, Ben's new alien partner after Gwen and Kevin left for university.

"Sorry!" Ben said. "I need a way to pass the time. This traffic doesn't seem to be moving anytime soon."

"Well, playing the violin with your thumbs isn't helping," said Rook.

"Oh, you mean fiddling with my thumbs."

"These Earth expressions you use make no sense at all," complained Rook.

Suddenly, a loud explosion occurred and a giant hole appeared in the middle of the highway. Out of the hole zoomed one alien ship after another.

"I wonder what the population of Undertown is so worried about. Why are they all fleeing the city?" exclaimed Ben.

A green alien with five eyes provided the answer. "The Incurseans are coming! The Incurseans are coming!" he screamed.

"Pssh!" Ben snorted. "The last time I beat those toads, they swore they would never come back. This is going to be a piece of cake!"

"Let's head back to Plumber HQ just in case," said Rook.

Plumber HQ

When the duo arrived at the headquarters, the place was in full panic mode. Alarms were blaring and people were running all over the place. A lone figure stood on top of the crisis management desk trying to restore order, but nothing seemed to be working. Just then, the person spotted Ben.

"Hi Ben! How's my grandson been?" he asked.

"Hi Grandpa Max! Can we cut short the chitchat? I hear there's going to be an invasion" yelled Ben; that was the only way Grandpa Max could hear him over the din.

"For starters, you can calm these plumbers down so we can organize a defense plan. Try transforming into one of your aliens, preferably Echo Echo," screamed Max into Ben's ear.

Ben transformed into said alien and projected his sonic boom attack around the room, shattering the glass windows. That seemed to wake everyone up.

"Right. Ok everybody, listen up. We need to stall the Incurseans long enough for us to prepare a counterattack. What do you guys suggest?" Max said as Ben transformed back to normal.

"We have a planetary shield that should delay them for a bit Magister Tennyson," one Plumber said.

"Go erect it. We don't have much time before the Incurseans get here," said Max.

The plumber pushed a button and a satellite projected a dome of pick energy that enveloped the planet.

"What can I do Grandpa? I want to help!" asked Ben.

"Sorry buddy, you'll have to deal with a more immediate problem," said his grandpa.

Max turned on the television and they watched as hundreds of protesters gathered in front of the headquarters.

"You want me to deal with this?" Ben asked. "I could be out there repelling an invasion and you want me to speak to angry residents?"

"No doubt they're angry about the alien population in Undertown. Because you wear the Omnitrix, you might be able to convince them that the aliens are all right. We don't want to be fighting a two front war, you know," explained Max.

"All right, I'll see what I can do" said Ben, resentfully.

Low Earth Orbit

"Finally we have arrived!" exclaimed Emperor Milleous. He pulled out a microphone. "Time to give a little speech to our puny defenders."

"Attention Earthling scum. This is your conqueror, Lord Emperor Milleous, light of the Incursean Empire, destroyer of galaxies, keeper of the conquest ray, all beings tremble- oh forget it. You won't live long enough! Resistance is futile, although greatly encouraged for my amusement." He was met with silence.

"Hey, what gives?" he asked.

"Hello? Planetary shields are up? They couldn't hear you even if they wanted to!" declared Princess Attea.

"Be quiet before I put you in a stasis pod!" Milleous thundered.

"You wouldn't dare daddy. After all, who's in charge of your fleet?" asked Attea.

"You are in command of only a small portion of my fleet," he corrected. "I am still in charge here."

"Ram that shield until it breaks!" Milleous ordered. Incursean ships began to ram the shield until cracks started to form. _It won't be long now, Milleous thought._

Outside Plumber HQ

The crowd outside grew to over a thousand screaming protesters egged on by none other than Will Harangue, the infamous host of Harangue Nation, a network dedicated to a Ben Ten smear campaign. "How do you explain the alien population living right under our city?" Harangue asked.

"Those aliens are just like you and me. They're honest creatures just trying to make a living," Ben replied, nervously fiddling with his Omnitrix.

"Randomizer function activated," said the Omnitrix. _Uh- oh, this can't be good, Ben thought._

"It's time to expose you for the menace you are Ben Tennyson! How do we know that you're not working with your alien friends to take over the Earth?" asked Harangue.

"Look, I said it once and I'll say it again. You have nothing to fear from- "

Suddenly, Ben transformed into Way Big and crushed half a dozen cars. "See what I mean? He's a menace!" screamed Harangue as people looked on in horror.

"Sorry folks. I have no idea what happened. You have nothing to fear," said Ben.

Ben transformed into Nergy (pun on energy) and blasted a nearby building. Flames shot up 20 feet into the air. "I can fix this!" Ben shouted as he escaped from his radiation suit. "There's no need to panic, but you might want to start backing away from me. The radiation might be harmful."

Ben's next transformation changed him into Water Hazard and he doused the flames with his cannons. The water fell on and drenched Harangue.

"I'll get you Tennyson! Somehow, someday, I will find a way to expose you!" vowed Harangue.

"My work here is done," exclaimed Ben. "Now I'll go see if Grandpa Max needs my help."

Low Earth Orbit

"Are you buffoons almost done with that shield?" asked Emperor Milleous. Finally, a small section of the shield gave way.

"Team Supreme, you're with me!" yelled Attea. "It's time to invade Earth!"

Plumber HQ

"Warning! Breach detected in sector 5!" informed a mechanical voice.

"All right, the situation is serious. We need to launch an all out assault on their flagship if we're going to have a chance of defeating this invasion. Everyone, let's move!" ordered Max.

"Ben, you and Rook jump in a Plumber craft and follow me. If you can get inside their flagship, you can stop the invasion" said Max.

"Sure thing Grandpa," said Ben.

"I have a bad feeling about this Magister," said Rook.

"Relax, everything will be just fine," responded Max.

The Plumber aircraft zoomed out of the tunnels and engaged Princess Attea's squadron. She ordered a tactical retreat back to space.

Low Earth Orbit

"There's Milleous' flagship! Destroy it!" yelled Max. The six ships spewed green laser fire at the giant flagship, but to no avail.

"Ha! We have a shield up Tennyson! You won't destroy our fleet that easily! Now give them a taste of our firepower!" Milleous ordered.

Giant turbolasers emerged from the depths of the ship and began peppering the area with heavy fire. The Plumber ships weaved around this storm of fire. Suddenly, Max saw something that made him gasp. Four Incursean fighters were chasing Ben and Rook, firing all the while. Max watched as their Plumber ship was hit once and then again moments later. Over his comm., he heard Rook say, "We're too heavily damaged. I'm going to crash the ship into Emperor Milleous' ship."

"No! That's suicide. Don't do it!" ordered Max.

"We don't have a choice. We're going to get shot down eventually" replied Rook. A moment later, he angled his ship and crashed kamikaze style into the side of Milleous' flagship.

"Nooooooooooooo!" yelled Max as a giant fireball erupted. Unbeknownst to his grandpa, Ben shielded Rook from any damage with his Bloxx transformation.

"We're fine!" Ben reported.

"Not for long you're not!" said a voice behind Ben.

Ben turned to see Emperor Milleous holding a blaster. "I have something that involves you, a lot of pain and destruction on a planetary scale!" announced Milleous.

"Sorry toad face, but I'm not interested" replied Ben.

As Rook fended off Milleous with his handy proto-tool, Ben struggled to find something good to transform into.

"Come on Omnitrix! Don't fail me now!" he pleaded. There was a flash of green light and Ben transformed into Rath.

"Lemme tell you something you obese toad! No one messes with Rath's planet and gets away with it!" Rath roared.

"Oh yeah? Let me see you handle this!" yelled Milleous as he jumped in the air and pinned Rath to the floor with his weight.

"Lemme tell you something you piece of fat that's slowly crushing me! Rath's not going down without a fight!" Rath wheezed. With his last bit of strength, Ben transformed into Big Chill and slipped out from under Milleous thanks to his intangibility ability. He then froze the emperor solid.

"Attention all Incursean fighters. The plumbers have infiltrated this ship. Trust no one but me. I order you to fire on this ship!" yelled Ben in Emperor Milleous' voice.

The flagship began to knell over from all the friendly fire and enter Earth's atmosphere. Emperor Milleous unfroze and grabbed hold of Big Chill.

"Hey! Let go of me. Ben transformed back into Rath.

"A very poor choice of words I'm afraid" said Emperor Milleous as he threw Rath out the window of the burning flagship.

"Lemme tell you something gravity!" screamed Rath as he hurtled towards the ground. "Rath doesn't believe in physics! And that means, as far as Rath's concerned, you are going to lose!"

TO BE CONTINUED…

Will Rath survive his plunge from outer space? Will the Incurseans manage to take over Earth? Find the answers to these questions in Part 2!


	2. The Deal

**Incursean Invasion part 2**

"You're going down gravity!" screamed Rath as he plummeted toward Earth.

"Contigo!" a voice cried and Rath was enveloped in a magenta colored sphere, protecting him from harm.

"Huh?" said Rath. "Lemme tell you something mysterious stranger who just saved my butt from certain death! Rath is able to handle himself!"

"Come off it Ben. I saw you fall at least 25 miles. You would've been killed if I wasn't here to save you," continued the voice.

"Show yourself! Rath doesn't have all day to talk to invisible beings!"

Rath transformed into Chromastone and fired an energy blast towards the direction of the voice.

A pink shield sprung up and deflected the blast. Chromastone reverted back to Ben.

"I know of only one person able to conjure up energy shields and that's my cousin," exclaimed Ben.

"Hey cuz! How's it going?" asked Gwen, stepping out of the shadows.

"If you don't count the armada over our heads, it's going well," said Ben. "Anyways, why are you here? I thought you were at college?"

"Change of plan. My professor turned out to be a plumber and he was ordered to help fend off the invasion. I offered to help him, so here I am."

Suddenly, the Incursean flagship landed right next to Ben and out jumped Emperor Milleous holding a blaster. He aimed it at Ben and fired. A force field sprung up shielding Ben from the blast. A plumber ship landed next to the Incursean flagship and out sprung Max Tennyson.

"Hands off my grandson toadface!" cried Max as he too pulled out a blaster and aimed it at Milleous.

"Don't make this complicated Max. Drop your weapon and surrender now," said Milleous.

"I don't think so. Just look, you're surrounded," countered Max.

Milleous looked up and saw he was boxed in by four plumber ships. He smiled.

"I suggest you look a little higher," he told Max.

Max glanced up and saw that his plumber ships were surrounded by at least one hundred Incursean battleships. He threw down his blaster.

"Ok, we surrender. What are your terms?" he asked.

"I'm feeling a bit generous so I won't kill you guys. All I ask in return is that you disband the plumber organization, give us Ben Tennyson and allow us to rule Earth," said Milleous.

"You have yourself a deal," said Max.

"What?! You can't be serious!" screamed Ben.

"It's for the best Ben. We'll have you back soon enough," said Max.

"No, I'm not going!" yelled Ben.

"We can do this the easy way or the hard way. It's your choice. Either way you'll end up with us" said Milleous.

"At least let me say my goodbyes," said Ben.

Ben turned towards Gwen and Max. Max walked up to him and shook his hand.

"Goodbye for now son. Don't worry; we can manage without your help."

Then, it was Gwen's turn.

"See you cuz. Take care of yourself now," she said. Suddenly, she leaned forward and kissed him. Ben blushed. He had never known his cousin to be the affectionate type.

"Say goodbye to Kevin for me and don't get into too much trouble. I'll be back before you know it!" said Ben.

When he had said his goodbyes, Princess Attea jumped out of the flagship and forced him into a stasis pod.

"Hey! This isn't part of the agreement! You said I would be your prisoner!" Ben cried.

"Well, there's been a change of plan. You are being sent into exile. It was daddy's plan all along."

"Milleous! We had a deal! You said he wouldn't be sent into exile!" yelled Max.

"Deals were meant to be broken," replied Milleous. The pod door closed and the engine started.

"Let's go," Milleous told Attea, "I have an inauguration ceremony to attend to."

Will Harangue Nation

"Reporting to you live from downtown Bellwood. The menace Ben Tennyson is about to be blasted off into outer space by our benevolent Incursean conquerors! What a cause for celebration!" screamed Harangue.

The rocket lifted off from the launch pad. "Goodbye and good riddance Ben Tennyson!"

Plumber HQ

"Don't worry Gwen. We'll get your cousin back," said Max.

"How? The plumbers have been disbanded as per the agreement, remember?"

"Well, Milleous broke his side of the deal, so we can break ours too."

Low Earth Orbit

The rocket had cut its engines once it got past Earth's atmosphere. Inside, the lone figure tried to make himself comfortable, burdened by the heavy manacles that inhibited his movement.

"Could this day get any worse?" the teen asked no one in particular.

"Warning: fuel levels dangerously low. Crash landing is imminent. Please select your landing site," said the computer.

"Cool! I get to choose?"

"Choices are: Galvan B, Mars, Venus, Jupiter, Saturn, Pluto and Anur Transyl."

"Ok. I choose Galvan B. Azmuth will know what to do!"

"Plotting course to Galvan B."

Ben tried to enjoy the ride there.

Galvan B

"Greetings young Tennyson. What brings you here?" asked Azmuth.

Ben looked the creator of the Omnitrix in the eye.

"I was banished from Earth," he mumbled.

"And now you need a way back?" asked Azmuth.

"Exactly."

"Hmm. I happen to have a certain DNA sample from an Incursean that I can program into the Omnitrix. It lets you transform into an Incursean," said Azmuth.

"Cool," exclaimed Ben, "Gimme!"

"Not so fast young man. I've noticed you've activated the randomizer function. I have to fix it before I give you your new alien, but that will take a few days," said Azmuth.

"But I don't have a few days! Milleous and his armada a ruling Earth right now!"

"I was speaking in relative terms. It would take a few days in Earth time, but here, it only takes five minutes."

"Ha-ha. Very funny."

Azmuth jumped on Ben's arm and fiddled with the Omnitrix.

"Randomizer function deactivated. New alien acquired," said the Omnitrix.

"There you are Tennyson," said Azmuth," now try not to destroy the thing will you?"

Ben was in the process of slamming his palm on the Omnitrix, but stopped.

"What?" he asked.

"Don't slam it! That's how you get those random transformations."

"I see. Now, how am I supposed to get back to Earth, Azmuth?"

I happen to have a spare Incursean cruiser in the hanger. You'll have to turn into the Incursean alien first."

"Oh, you mean Bullfrag?"

"Excuse me? You name your aliens?"

"Um, yeah. It just sounds cool yelling out names in the middle of a fight."

"No wonder you're so immature," Azmuth grumbled.

Ten minutes later, Ben aka Bullfrag left Galvan B on a course back to Earth.

United States (one month since the Invasion)

"This is Will Harangue reporting to you from the White House where today Emperor Milleous, light of the Incursean Empire, destroyer of galaxies, keeper of the conquest ray…"

"Get on with the program!" yelled Milleous. "I didn't hire you to be propaganda chief for nothing."

"Of course not your Excellency. Anyways, Emperor Milleous is about to be crowned the 45th President of the United States. The whereabouts of President #44 are still unknown."

"Now, Mr. President elect, repeat after me," said Supreme Court Justice John Roberts.

"I, Emperor Lord Milleous of the deathless Incursean Empire, do solemnly swear that I will faithfully execute the Office of the President of the United States, and will to the best of my ability, preserve, protect and defend the Constitution of the United States."

Milleous repeated the words. "Congratulations, Mr. President," Roberts said.

"Guards, take him away," ordered Milleous. The Incursean security forces dragged Roberts down to a holding cell.

"Now for my first act as President, I give myself the power to suspend the Constitution," he cried.

"You can't do that Mr. President," several members of Congress yelled.

"I can now, after I do this." Milleous threw all the members of Congress into the holding cells.

"Any further objections? Good! Next, I give myself the power to issue Presidential Decrees."

"Decree #1: The Constitution is hereby suspended, all opposition parties are disbanded and banned and the official name shall be changed from the United States of America to the Democratic People's Republic of Milleous (DPRM). Hardly free nor fair elections will be held tomorrow, where I will be the only candidate. Remember, vote for me or else!"

"Decree #2: The only channel you can get your news from is Will Harangue Nation, which is not at all under my control. Furthermore, the official language of the DPRM is now Milleousnese, not English. Don't worry; the new language is the same as the old one. We will now address each other as comrade, because I happen to respect the communist system. Finally, I have changed a couple words to Milleous, just for the fun of it. The full list can be found on this website: www. ."

"Thank you for understanding these difficult times and please, do not hesitate to complain. All you will get is a year in detention. Enjoy the rest of your day comrades. Remember, work makes you free."

Random Doctor's Office

"Hello comrade! I have Milleous news!" said the doctor.

"Milleous! Let me hear the Milleous News!" cried the patient.

"You are HIV-Milleous comrade!"

(Yes the words for positive, negative, good and bad were all changed to Milleous).

Plumber HQ (Underground now)

"I can't believe Milleous is doing this!" cried Gwen.

"Yeah, I know. I just checked out his website. Half the words in the entire English languages were just changed to Milleous," replied Max.

"I hope Ben comes back soon to stop this freak."

"I have an African American man standing outside the gate claiming to be the missing 44th President of the United States, Mr. Tennyson. Should I let him in?" asked a guard.

"Yes, yes, let him in."

"I want my old job back!" cried Barack Obama. "I can't believe I am the first President to leave office since Nixon! And I didn't do anything to deserve it!"

"Don't worry, Mr. President. You'll get your job back soon enough," said Max.

_Ben, please hurry thought Gwen_.

On approach to Bellwood International Airport

Welcome to Milleous International Airport. We hope you enjoy your stay in the DPRM, comrade," croaked the Air Traffic Controller.

"What happened to the United States?" Ben asked.

"Oh, Emperor Milleous changed the name along with many other words."

"Right. I have to go to the plumber base right now. There's some business I have to attend to.

"The plumbers don't exist anymore."

"Whatever. Just get me to the HQ."

Ben arrived at plumber HQ a few minutes later as Bullfrag.

Plumber HQ

"Warning! Intruder outside!" screeched the computer.

Gwen rushed outside and confronted Bullfrag. She trapped him in a sphere of mana.

"Who are you?" she snarled.

Bullfrag used his tongue to disintegrate the energy sphere. Gwen fired magenta disks at him, but he just opened his mouth and swallowed them whole. He turned away from her and spit them at a nearby Incursean ship.

"Huh? Who's side are you on anyway?" asked Gwen.

"Obviously, I'm on yours," said Bullfrag.

"Ben, is that you? It's been so long"

"Nope. It's been like 3 days for me."

"That's because you were travelling at the speed of light, Ben. Time speeds up for you relative to everyone else. Haven't you heard of Einstein's theory of relativity?"

"Yeah, Azmuth told me something to that effect."

"You met Azmuth? I thought he said he didn't want anything to do with you."

"Well, he helped me out and here I am."

"You better come inside the base before anything else happens."

Ben and Gwen walked inside the base. Max Tennyson looked up to see an Incursean coming towards him. Instinctively, he reached for his blaster and let off a shot. The shot would have hit Ben had he not swallowed it.

"I'm not who you think I am," said Bullfrag.

"Listen to him Grandpa. He's not an Incursean," said Gwen.

"Then who are you?" asked Max.

Ben transformed back into himself.

"Does this clear things up?"

"Ben! We all thought you were dead!" exclaimed Max.

"Really?"

"Well Grandpa did. I never gave up hope," said Gwen.

"Neither did I," said a voice form the shadows.

"Kevin?" Ben asked.

"The one and only. How's it going Tennyson?"

"Listen, we got more important matters on our hands, so skip the chitchat," said Max.

"What is it?" said Ben, Gwen and Kevin.

"Milleous knows you came back, Ben. He's ordered anyone who finds you to arrest you."

"I'm sorry Ben. I'm going to turn you in. Kevin, Gwen, help me," said Max.

Have Grandpa Max, Kevin and Gwen turned traitor? Find out in Part 3!


	3. Family Feud

**Incursean Invasion-Part 3**

Plumber HQ

Ben slowly backed away from the advancing threesome. "What are you doing?" he asked.

"We're giving you up. It's the only way to save Earth," replied Max.

"Ok, I'm going to the loo (toilet). Call me if you need me," Barack Obama said. He walked out of the conference room.

"All right Ben. There's no reason to resist. If you come quietly, we won't harm you," Gwen told him, "but if you don't, we'll have no choice but to subdue you. Either way, you're coming with us."

"I'm hoping you'll try something. I've wanted to beat you up since we were kids," said Kevin.

"Sorry guys, but I'm not going down without a fight, even if it's against my family and friends!" retorted Ben.

"I'm sorry I have to do this to you Ben," said Max. He pulled out an ion blaster and set the mode on stun. Then he aimed it at Ben. Ben quickly transformed into Lodestar and yanked the gun out of Max's hands with his magnetic powers before the latter could fire it.

"All right you two deal with him," muttered Max. Gwen summoned her spheres of mana, which she threw at Ben. Ben transformed into Upchuck and swallowed it.

"Come on Gwen. That was the oldest trick in the book. Don't you think I've memorized your opening moves by now?" asked Ben. He unloaded his projectile at Kevin, who was charging in for an attack. The missile threw Kevin against the wall, cracked his aluminum armor and knocked him out.

"That's enough fighting for a day!" Max declared as he threw a concussion grenade at Ben, hoping to knock the boy out. Ben threw it back at Max and the resulting blast knocked Max out too. Now there were only two people left standing. It was Ben against his cousin.

"The offer to surrender is still open, you know," Gwen stated as she slowly backed Ben into a corner. She formed a giant hand out of mana and attempted to restrain him. Ben transformed into Goop and slipped through the fingers. Ben attempted to slither away, but Gwen chanted _Thanatis Icatis Exodus._ The tornado separated Goop from his anti-gravity projector and rendered him helpless. However, Ben managed to hit the Omnitrix button beforehand and transform into Stinkfly. He shot streams of goo at Gwen, who back flipped over all of them. Ben then attempted to fly away, but Gwen cried _Facio Gravis_, which increased the gravity on Ben and forced him to make a crash-landing on the floor.

"Have you had enough yet?" asked Gwen.

"Not even close. This would actually be a great training exercise if it wasn't so serious," replied Ben as he struggled to pick himself off the floor. Ben transformed into CharmAlien and went into camouflage mode.

"I can still track you even if I can't see you," said Gwen.

"I'm not running away. I'm just attacking in a new direction," Ben said as he made for the exit. Gwen blocked off the exit with a dome of mana, but Ben slipped through the cracks as Nanomech without being seen. He entered a storage closet and called Rook on his cell phone.

"Hey Rook! Where are you? I need your help!"

"What is it Ben. Are you hurt?"

"Not yet, but Gwen, Kevin and Grandpa Max have turned on me. They want to sell me to the Incurseans in exchange for Earth's safety."

"No! That cannot be true!"

"It is true. Can you get to Plumber HQ to help me out? I've knocked out Kevin and Grandpa Max, but Gwen's still searching for me. It's only a matter of time before she finds me."

"I will see what I can do, but do not get your hopes up. I am still on the Incursean ship and it is going to take at least thirsty minutes for me to get to you, even with my proto-truck."

"I have to go! I can hear Gwen approaching."

"Good luck Ben! I hope you do not kill any of them. They are still our partners after all."

"Come out cousin! I know you're in there!" said Gwen.

"How right you are," Ben agreed as he appeared. Gwen yelled _Silicus Miles Sasitatio._ Four rock creatures appeared and wrestled Ben to the ground.

"Now I've got you where I want you," said Gwen.

"Could've fooled me," replied Ben as he absorbed the creature's energy by transforming into Chromastone._ Eradico_ Gwen shouted and a sphere of mana encased Chromastone. Ben simply dissolved the sphere and transformed into Terraspin, who blew Gwen onto the ceiling. Gwen muttered _Tardis Motis_ and made the strong winds disappear. Finally, Ben had enough.

"I swore I wouldn't hurt you, but I'm getting tired of this," Ben said. He transformed into Ultimate Echo-Echo and unleashed his sonic boom on Gwen. Gwen conjured up heavy-duty ear muffs to block out the noise.

"Hah! You'll have to do better than that!" she said.

"Then try and block this!" Ben said as he transformed into Way Big and readied his ray beam. Gwen conjured up a shield, but the shield started to crack under the strain. She decided to do a teleportation spell that removed her from the beam's path. The beam left a giant crater fifty feet in diameter. Ben looked into it in shock.

"What have I done?" he moaned. "I've killed my favorite cousin!"

"Relax. You haven't killed me just yet," replied Gwen.

She went full Anodite and paralyzed Way Big by striking his only weak spot, the red fin on the back of his head. For the next half hour, Ben and Gwen fought, each countering the other's moves. Ben cycled through every single alien on his Omnitrix except for two: Atomix and Alien X. He decided to use them now.

"Oh boy. I'm exhausted. How about we just call this a draw and forget it ever happened," offered Gwen.

"I've got a few more aliens up my sleeve," replied Ben.

"Ah, I see. Are you planning on transforming into Atomix and wiping me out?" asked Gwen.

"Well, of course I wouldn't! The most I would do would be to render you unconscious."

"I'd like to see you try."

"You asked for it!" Ben transformed into Atomix and prepared his attack. He chose watered down version on his ultimate attack, just powerful enough to level an entire city and kill everyone in it.

"HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA HAA-MEE-NA-HA… Nuclear Winner!" Ben cried. At the same time, Gwen shouted _Presidium_, creating a gigantic dome of mana to protect her, Grandpa Max and Kevin from the blast. When the smoke cleared, Plumber HQ was in ruins. The only standing part of the building was the bathroom in which President Obama took refuge in.

Ben reverted back to normal, utterly exhausted. Gwen lowered her shield and smiled at Ben.

"Nice job Ben. I never knew you could do that!"

"Thanks. Does that mean we're best buds again?"

"Think again! I'm still not done with you just yet."

"Come on Gwen. I'm tired, you're tired. I almost killed you with that last attack. Don't make me do something else I'm going to regret later."

"Huh? What else can you do? You've cycled through every one of your aliens. There's nothing left for you to transform into."

"You're forgetting about my most powerful alien."

"Hah! Alien X? Sure you can do just about anything with that one, but you'll have to convince Serena and Bellicus to help you. Fat chance of that happening."

"I can get them to remove your powers, leaving you defenseless."

"You wouldn't dare! You need my help to deal with Milleous!"

"What?! So you guys weren't going to sell me out after all?"

"Nope. We just wanted you to think that. It was quite fascinating to see your reaction, you know."

Kevin and Max woke up.

"Hey Ben! Did Gwen tell you about the trick we played on you?" asked Max.

"That wasn't funny Grandpa. You guys almost got killed."

"Well, it was a good sparring session, wasn't it Tennyson?" asked Kevin.

"It was all right. Just don't pull one on me like that while acting so serious! I thought it was for real!" (Cue the hugs and kisses).

"We can all get along well now?" asked Obama as he walked back into what was left of the room.

"Let me guess. You knew about this all along, didn't you?" asked Ben.

"Yup. That's why I took a two hour trip to the loo. I knew it was the safest place on this base to hide in while you four engaged in a three on one. Then, just as you guys were about to kill each other, I would walk in with a peace offer."

"Well you were too late. We made up a few minutes before you walked in."

"I hadn't counted on you dragging on the battle for so long Ben."

"Skip the chitchat. What's the new plan?" asked Max.

"While I was in the loo, I was informed by the Secretary of State that we have formed a United States in Exile or as I like to call it, USE. Also, the world community has formed the new United Nations, as the old one is currently occupied by Millious."

"Where is it?" Ben asked.

"Both the USE and the UN have their headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland. We have asked the UN to recognize the USE as the sole legitimate government of the United States. This requires a vote by the Security Council, which we are not a part of. Heck, we aren't even a member yet. I need you four to come with me to rally support for our membership."

"That's all good, but how are we going to get there? The Incurseans have confiscated all our Plumber ships," said Max.

"I've still got Air Force One."

"Yeah, well none of us know how to fly a plane," said Gwen.

"Allow me," said Rook.

Five minutes later, everyone was aboard Air Force One, nervously approaching the Incursean blockade.

"Halt! Turn this plane around or prepare to be shot down!" demanded Princess Attea.

"I don't think so!" replied Gwen. She chanted and the plane disappeared.

"Where did they go?" Attea demanded.

"I have no idea. They just vanished," replied a technician.

"Oh well, I'll just tell daddy we obliterated them."

"He won't like being told lies."

"What daddy doesn't know won't kill him," Attea replied.

The White House

"Incursean forces have shot down a Boeing 747 believed to be carrying Ben Tennyson and company. There appear to be no survivors," reported Will Harangue.

"Excellent. Now that I'm rid of Ben Tennyson, I can begin phase two: world domination," crowed Millious.

"Um sir, you might want to look at this," said a soldier.

"What is it?" Millious snapped.

"Your daughter never destroyed the plane. It just disappeared on its own."

"Argggh! FIND ME THAT PLANE YOU NUMSKULLS!" Milleous raged.

Geneva, Switzerland, UN HQ

Air Force One landed safely on the tarmac at Geneva International and six people walked out.

"Escort us immediately to the UN," Obama said.

"And who might you me sir?" the chauffeur asked.

"I am Barrack Hussein Obama, 44th President of the United States and I am currently on the run from alien forces."

"I see. Get in Mr. President." Everyone piled into the limo and sped towards the temporary UN building. The Secretary of State met them at the entrance to the compound.

"Come on. The world is about to vote on our fate," he said.

The UN General Secretary was tally up votes for the inclusion of the USE into the UN.

"Fifteen for, zero against."

He turned to the Secretary of State. "Congratulations. You are now a part of the UN community.

The delegate from France spoke up. "I vote we give the newest member a seat on the Security Council."

"I second it," said the delegate from Great Britain.

"Motion passes. It is time to vote…now," said the Secretary General.

Moments later, the USE was given a permanent seat on the Security council.

"As is customary, I invite the leader of the new member state to make a speech. Mr. Obama, would you be so kind to do so?"

Obama stepped on the podium to deliver his speech.

"As all of you know, an alien invader has taken over the United States. He is a brutal tyrant who only wishes to exploit our resources. I call on all nations to assist us in driving out this madman. Remember, it is us today. It may be you tomorrow."

"I call a vote on the use of force to liberate the United States," cried the delegate to China. Russia quickly seconded.

"The motion passes with everyone for and none against," said the Secretary General.

Afterwards, Russian President Vladimir Putin pulled President Obama aside.

"I want you to know all our previous hostilities have been put aside while you deal with this crisis. We stand ready to assist you in any form you require, including using our nuclear weapons on your behalf."

"Thank you for your assistance Mr. President," replied President Obama.

"Max," Obama said, "I need you to find a way to broadcast to the American people back home without Millieous noticing. We'll need all the help we can get."

"I'm on it. My granddaughter can hack into anything."

Will their rallying of support actually work? Stay tuned for part 4, where you can find out. The ultimate showdown approaches… Also, don't hesitate to tell me what you think of the story so far! What do you want me to do for the next chapter?


	4. Rising Tensions

**Incursean Invasion-Part 4**

Recap: As it turned out, Gwen, Kevin and Max haven't turned traitor. The whole scheme was to buy enough time for the gang to get to the temporary UN headquarters in Geneva to rally world support for an Allied invasion to recapture the United States. President Obama has just asked to contact the citizens of the U.S to organize and underground resistance movement.

Geneva, Switzerland

"Are you almost done, Gwen?" Max asked.

"I think I have it. I just need a few more seconds," replied Gwen. Suddenly, the satellite beeped twice and a message appeared on the computer screen that read: ACCESS GRANTED.

"Yes! We're now live across every single living room in America!" Gwen exclaimed.

"So Milleous can see this too?" asked Ben and Max at the same time.

"Well, I managed to jam his signal so he can't see what we're broadcasting. But other than that, we're all set."

"Take it away Mr. President," Max said to President Obama.

Obama walked up to the monitor and began to speak. "Good evening, my fellow Americans. Many of you may think I am a coward for running away at a time when the country needs me the most. I assure you that that is not the case. Rather, the measure was for my own safety to ensure a continuity of government in case of emergency, which this certainly qualifies as such. As we speak, I am looking into all possible measures, both diplomatic and dramatic in nature to resolve the crisis. I ask of you in return to do all you can to disobey the new government through peaceful means- protests, marches, etc. However, do not do anything that is illegal under our own Constitution. That means no rioting, looting or attacking the police. I'll end with a quote from Psalm 23:4: Even though I walk through the darkest valley, I will fear no evil, for you are with me. Thank you and God Bless these United States!"

Obama turned to Gwen. "Now I need you to establish a direct link to the White House. I wish to speak directly with the new leader."

The link was established. A bored voice came through on the other end. "Hello Earthling scum. To whom do I give the honor of speaking to his majesty supreme?"

"Is this Emperor Milleous, light of the Incursean Empire, blah,blah, blah?" asked Obama. "This is the currently elusive 44th President of the United States

"How dare you mock my office!"

"Your office? I kindly remind you that I was the rightful President before you came and usurped me."

"Enough of this! What do you want? I don't have all day to talk to deposed leaders, you know!"

"You shall end your conquest right now or suffer the consequences!"

"Hah! You expect me to believe that? What are you going to do? Complain to the UN?"

"As a matter of fact, I already have. But that's not the point. The point is, if you don't remove yourself from my country within 48 hours, we will have no choice but to use force."

"You and what army? Oh right. You have no army!"

"Oh there'll be an army all right. An army made of millions, even billions of people. I'll be keeping in touch with you to see that you meet the deadline."

"Where are you right now?"

"Where do you think the new UN is? It's in Switzerland!"

"Enjoy your last minutes of existence then. How does it feel to be the leader of a hopeless country."

"Wo! I feel good!"

"I'll put an end to your endless pop culture references!" Millious slammed down the phone.

"Ok. Diplomacy is out of the picture. Now what?"

"Time to crush some Incursean toads!" screamed Kevin.

"Hold your horses son," said Obama.

"I do not believe Kevin has any horses to hold," exclaimed Rook. Ben gave him a look.

"We should totally enroll you in the American Education system when we re-conquer America," Gwen said.

"Aggh! Too many years learning about useless Earth expressions! Why not say, it's raining hard instead of, it's raining cats and dogs?" asked Rook.

"No idea," said Ben.

"Guys. I hate to interrupt your fascinating discussion of our failing educational system, but we have more pressing matters at hand," chimed in President Obama.

"What is it?" asked Max.

"Milleous said he was going to nuke this place to stop me from regaining control."

"It's hero time then!" Ben declared.

"Ben, you take Gwen and protect this facility. Everyone else, run to the bomb shelters," ordered Max.

"I can handle it on my own," said Ben.

"No you're not! We're family and that means we stick together!" exclaimed Gwen.

"I'm with you too!" said Kevin.

"What can you do that I don't know of?" asked Ben and Gwen, who were both surprised.

"I can absorb anything remember? That includes lead. And as we all know, lead blocks radiation."

"And I was worried about you passing your GED…" muttered Gwen.

As there were no fall-out shelters in Geneva, Rook had everyone dig trenches to hide in. Gwen cast her _Presidium_spell to protect them from the blast. Ben transformed into Murk Upchuck and prepared to swallow the missile.

USS Kitty Hawk

"Sir, we've just receive orders from Emperor Milleous to attack the UN headquarters in Geneva," said a sailor.

"And why would we do that? Tell the battle crew to ignore that order. I repeat, do not fire on Geneva," ordered the captain. Alarms suddenly began to blare.

"Sir, missile #24 is on its way to the launch silo!"

"Abort now! Under no circumstances will we attack an ally."

"Sir, we can't do anything. The abort command isn't working! I've lost control of the weapon!"

"Use the manual over-ride!"

"That isn't working either. The best I can do is to alter the missile's path by a few miles."

"Go do that then! Every mile means lives saved." The technician came back a few minutes later.

"Turns out that didn't work either. The missile is launching right now. There's nothing we can do except watch and pray."

With a roar and a burst of flames, the missile arced out of the silo on the submarine.

"Lord have mercy on those poor people!" the captain exclaimed.

"Sir, the President is in Geneva, you know?"

"Can this day get any worse?"

Geneva

"Ben, I've got a fix on that missile. 46.2000° N, 6.1500° E. Impact time is five minutes," reported Gwen.

"Preparing for interception…" responded Ben.

The missile plummeted from the sky without warning. Ben barely had time to swallow the missile before it exploded in his mouth. Luckily, Kevin ran over and covered Ben with lead to protect the latter from the radiation and Gwen managed to encase Ben in a sphere of mana to isolate him ( Murk Upchuck is not affected by explosions).

"That was too close for comfort. Nice job kids!" exclaimed Max.

"I shall bestow upon you three the Medal of Honor," said President Obama.

"I thought only military personnel could receive those. We don't qualify," said Gwen.

"Rules can be bended under extreme circumstances. You three have clearly demonstrated actions above and beyond the call of duty. Now if you'll excuse me, I have a mass protest to orchestrate." Obama turned again to the live broadcast to his fellow Americans.

"Greetings. It is time now to gather in the streets to demand change. Do whatever needs to be done to get Milleous' attention. Good luck!"

Ferguson, Missouri

"Hey! You there! Stop in the name of his majesty Emperor Milleous!" screamed an Incursean Death-Squad member.

"Is walking on the sidewalk now a crime?" asked Jamal Harris.

"No, but you forgot to kiss the statue of Emperor Milleous before you stepped into the crosswalk."

"Screw your Emperor's rules! I have green hair."

"I don't care what color hair you have. You can't disrespect our savior Emperor Lord Milleous."

"I can do whatever I want." Harris began to walk away.

"Hey! Get back here! I'm not done ranting!"

"Whatever." Harris continued walking.

"I'll arrest you if you don't stop!"

"You can do that only if you catch me," taunted Harris as he began to run.

The Death-Squad member aimed is blaster set to stun at Harris. The teen's knees buckled and he collapsed the ground right in front of his house.

"Enough. You win! Don't shoot me!" exclaimed Harris.

"You know what? I think I will because I find you annoying." The next shot seemingly vaporized the teen.

"Nooooooo!" his family screamed as they ran out of the house. They saw the tattered clothing and feared the worst.

"You killed my child, you sick freak!" screamed the mother.

"I was only doing my job, which is to execute people who refuse to accept the rule of Emperor Milleous."

As one, the family rushed the officer and beat him up. Broken and battered, the officer retreated to his headquarters. A crowd soon gathered at the headquarters of the Death-Squad in Ferguson and vandalized the place.

White House

"Sir, are you seeing this? You know, the riots in Ferguson?" an aide asked.

"I do," replied Milleous.

"What are you going to do about it?"

"I want a ban on all unsanctioned demonstrations and the arrest of all people who have vandalized the Death-Squad headquarters and beaten up its officers. This should be broadcast on Will Harangue Nation. I shall accept a demonstration in front of the White House to hear the people's grievances, but I haven't decided what to do with them after," said Milleous.

All across the United States

"Attention comrades, Emperor Milleous has just issued Presidential Decree # 3, which bans all unsanctioned demonstrations. As such, you must cease all public gatherings of more than 200 people or suffer the consequences. Anyone who wishes to bring grievances to his majesty can do so next Tuesday in front of the White House. Furthermore, all acts of rioting and looting will not be tolerated. It is advised that you remain indoors. Remember, stay safe to live long! Glory to Lord Emperor Milleous! This has been Will Harangue Nation."

Meanwhile…back in Geneva

"Hmm, seems like the insurrection wasn't a total failure. Although it had to end, the protestors are allowed a demonstration at the White House," reported Max as he switched off the T.V.

"Excellent! So, when can I get my job back?" asked Obama.

"We do not know the status of the Incursean Army. The armed struggle may take many years," replied Rook.

"Years?! I'm close to the end of my second term. I don't have time to wait for a war to end!" Obama exclaimed.

"Relax, Mr. President. I'm sure Rook was just exaggerating."

"All my comments are as close to fact as can be. I do not exaggerate anything."

"No wonder you have no sense of humor, Rook. You take things way too seriously," said Ben.

"The situation at hand has no place for humor," Rook said.

"He's right," Max said. "We need to concentrate on how to get back into the U.S."

"We can discuss that later, after we've established a rebel group in the U.S. I'm counting on those back home to split the U.S in two. That way, it will be easier to make our way back. Until then, we'll have to stay here," said Obama.

"Great! Where are we going to stay for the next few days? I don't want to stay in the UN compound forever. The toilets are always clogged up!" complained Ben.

"Excuse me. I have to talk to Milleous again. His 48 hours are up," said Obama as he left the room.

"Relax Ben. I've already researched this. There's a hotel about 2 miles from the UN compound," said Gwen.

"Is it a five star one?" asked Ben.

"Anything's ok as long as I get to put my car in a garage," chimed in Kevin.

"It's a one star. Yeah, I know that sucks. However it's about to get much worse. We only have enough money for five rooms, which means one of us will have to share a room with someone else. Obviously President Obama gets his own room." said Gwen.

"Ok. Me and Rook in a room then," said Ben.

"We can't have that. The cleaning maid might get freaked out by Rook. He'll have to stay in his own room."

"Are you hinting that you and I will have to share a room?" asked Ben.

"Exactly," said Gwen. "It wasn't my first choice, but what can we do?"

"In that case, I choose the floor. You can sleep on the bed."

"Really? I don't recall you being so generous. What made you change?"

"One word: puberty," said Kevin.

Both cousins turned red. "Ok, I'll go make the reservations right now," said Gwen to get out of the embarrassing situation.

"And I'll go unpack our stuff. The rest of you stay here," said Max.

A couple of hours later…

"All right, I think that's the last bag," huffed Fourarms as he set down the final four suitcases on the floor of the suite. He then transformed back to Ben.

"Good lord! Would you look at the time! It's almost 12:00 midnight. You guys better go get some sleep. I'll take the first watch," said Max.

"And why do we need one?" asked Ben.

"Because doofus, the President is here! Someone could try and take him out while we're here," exclaimed Gwen.

"I knew that, ok."

"Time for bed! Chop-chop. And no funny business from any of you, do you hear me?" asked Max.

"Don't even go there Gramps," said Ben. "We're all responsible teenagers."

"That's what I'm worried about."

"Enough said. Good night!" said Ben.

"Good night to you too, Ben!"

"Cheerio mate!" said Rook. "Yes, I've been learning to speak like a Brit. You Americans are so informal."

They all retired to their respective rooms for the night. As promised, Ben slept on the floor and the awkward night passed without incident.

Meanwhile across the Atlantic… (3 hours back on Tuesday, October 28, 2014)

In front of the White House

"Hands up! Don't shoot! What do we want? Justice! We do we want it? Now!" The chant echoed across the White House grounds. Emperor Milleous soon grew tired of it. He stepped out in front of the balcony.

"What do I have to do to get you to stop protesting?" he asked.

"We want justice for Jamal! And to do that we need a fair legal system! And to have that, we need democracy!" And then the people began to sing.

Do you hear the people sing?  
Singing a song of angry men?  
It is the music of a people  
Who will not be slaves again!  
When the beating of your heart  
Echoes the beating of the drums  
There is a life about to start  
When tomorrow comes!

"Fine! You want democracy? I'll give you democracy! A referendum will be held tomorrow to determine whether or not to split the DPRM into two along the Mississippi River. The West half will have its own government and will be completely free from my control Anyone who wishes to migrate to the West may do so. I'm only doing so because I'm tired of hearing your complaints over and over again!" screamed Milleous. At this the people cheered and dispersed, sure that by tomorrow, they would be separate from Milleous.

"Fools! I'm still in control here. Nothing will change that!" Milleous roared.

Hotel in Geneva

Ben woke up to find Gwen on top of him. "What the devil!" he yelled.

"Sorry about that Ben. I must have rolled off the bed. I'm just so tired." She untangled herself from her cousin.

"Were you up all night again? I thought gramps told us to go to bed."

"I checked the Will Harangue Network. Apparently Milleous is holding a referendum on secession. If it succeeds, the Western half of the country will no longer be controlled by him."

"Awesome! So now it's time to go back and reclaim our country!"

"That's right, Ben!"

"Wait till I tell Gramps, Rook and Kevin!"

"They already know. In fact only President Obama doesn't know."

"Why? He should be the first one to know!"

"I couldn't find him! Everyone is looking for him. It seems as though the President just vanished!"

"It seems like you guys didn't look closely enough," the President said with a huge grin on his face. "I wasn't on the hotel floor. I was in the kitchen making breakfast."

"I highly doubt this hotel's food is even edible. I mean, it doesn't even have a kitchen staff. You have to service yourself!" said Ben.

"Now that I think about it, you're right," said Obama. "I was up for an hour making what I thought were pancakes."

"What were they really?" Gwen and Ben asked, interested.

"Let's not talk about it. Luckily, I have enough money for a McDonald's stop."

"Hold it! You're the President. People are supposed to serve you, not the other way around. We can't accept your money!" said Ben.

"Well, if you'd rather go without breakfast…" said Gwen.

"On second thought, I'll take it. Let's go wake the others."

On the way to the McDonalds, Max filled President Obama in on the referendum.

"By all accounts, the 'yes' vote should succeed. If it does, we can go back to the Western half by tomorrow."

"That's great!"

After they had all eaten at McDonalds, they all returned to the UN to brief the world community on the recent developments.

"We are all Americans today," the French delegate declared. Every delegate voted to send help to the U.S. Meanwhile, the results from the referendum were being announced.

Referendum Day (November 4th, 2014)

"And the results are in! With 60,567,450 votes for yes and 57,986,453 for no, the secession vote is a resounding yes. The Western half of the DPRM is now independent. Presidential elections will be held tomorrow to decide the leader of the yet unnamed country, population: 250,000,000. This is Will Harangue Nation, which unfortunately, will not be able to be broadcast in the new country. It's time to say '_Au Revoir'_ for folks on the West coast to the best in news, proudly serving the Milleous government for about three months now."

Presidential Election 2014

"Joe Biden is the new President of the U.S with 50.01% of the vote!" CNN declared.

"Thank you all for voting for me! I promise to win back the Eastern United States so we can once again be called the_ United_ States. For now, let us be known as the Disbanded States of 22 or DS22," announced Biden. "I have also terminated all relations with the DPRM. For our purposes, we are now enemies with them."

UN Headquarters

The election results as well as Biden's Inauguration speech were broadcast live on the jumbotron. President Obama immediately called the former VP.

"Congrats Mr. President!"said Obama.

"There's no need sir. I've learned it all from you."

"Oh, don't be modest! A victory is a victory all the same. Now when can we get back to the DS22?"

"Are you bringing any troops with you? Most of the generals went missing. We think Milleous took them to wreck our war effort. Those who are left aren't competent enough."

"Troops won't be a problem. I was told I could borrow the troops from the other countries as I saw fit. As for a skilled Commander of the Army, I'll see what I can do."

"You'd better hurry. War could break out any day now." Biden hung up the phone. Obama took Max, Ben, Gwen, Kevin and Rook out of the conference room to talk in private.

"I need a Commander and fast. Who's up to the task?"

"Grandpa Max!" Ben and Gwen said instantly.

"I'm sorry, but he's far too old. Anyone else?"

"Ben, you could be a Commander!" said Gwen.

"Me? I'm way too young and I don't have any leadership experience."

"You've been leading me and Gwen on missions ever since like one year ago," said Kevin. "I think that qualifies as experience."

"You are a natural leader Ben. We all know that," said Rook.

"Even if I was, how am I going to get the military experience I need in a few days time?"

"Hmm, that's a hard one."

"Allow me," a voice said. An old man with spectacles suddenly appeared out of thin air.

"Professor Paradox?! What are you doing here," Everyone except for President Obama shouted.

"Who is this man?" He politely asked.

"Ok, this is going to sound crazy," said Ben.

"Oh, I know crazy from being around you guys for about a week," said Obama.

"This man can travel through time. So that's why he's a paradox, for he can never age."

"How right you are my dear Ben! And that is exactly what you're going to do! I shall take you all on a journey through time to learn the strategies that you must know to win the upcoming showdown. But be warned, unlike previous times, you can alter history with your actions and you can also die. Therefore, I would advise the President and Max Tennyson to remain behind." said Paradox.

"All right! The dream team is back in action! Just you, me, Gwen, Kevin and Rook on a journey through history to save the present day!" exclaimed Ben.

Paradox opened up a time portal to the first time period. "After you my friends!" he said.

They all looked back at Max and President Obama. "See you guys in a bit!"

"Bon voyage and Godspeed!"

So… how is that for a dramatic plot twist? Do you like the time travel idea? Review please! (Lyrics are from Les Miz and the Ferguson scene is inspired by real events…)


	5. Ancient Greece-480 BC

**Incursean Invasion-Part 5**

Recap: Ben, Gwen and Kevin have agreed to Professor Paradox's plan to travel through time to learn from experience what it takes to become a leader. Little do they know the trouble they are getting themselves into.

Note: The next few chapters will focus entirely on Ben's adventures through the time stream. Some items are anachronisms meaning they did not exist yet during the time period in which Ben, Gwen and Kevin are traveling through.

"Ok young Tennysons and Kevin E. Levin, time to step into the portal and save mankind," said Paradox.

"Where are how far back are we headed?" asked Gwen.

"Oh, it'll be like two hours ago for me. For you guys, not so much. Anywho, the first destination will be the plains of Thermopylae, Greece, the site of an extremely important battle between the Greeks and the Persians, in the year 480 B.C. "

"And how would going back so far in time help me become an effective strategist?" asked Ben. "Their techniques are obsolete."

"A common misconception, my young friend. The ancients were just as smart as and probably even smarter than the people of today."

"And what am I supposed to learn there? How to stab someone with a spear and throw a few rocks?" asked Ben.

"Well, that and a thing I like to call tactic. You'll be figuring out all sorts of strategies on your journeys," said Paradox.

"Wait, you won't tell me what I'm supposed to be figuring out?"

"That's for you to decide on your own."

"And if I happen to pick up the wrong strategy?"

"That's why you have your friend and cousin here to support you."

"Ha! He called you a loser!" jeered Kevin.

"Cut it out! No one makes fun of my cousin except for me and I don't do that anymore!" said Gwen.

"As long as we get back in time for lunch. I left on partially empty stomach 'cuz I only ate like the Big Breakfast Platter from McDonalds," said Kevin.

"Time travel is strange. You can go back in time for weeks and when you come back, only a few hours would have passed. Trust me, I've been doing this for eons," said Paradox.

"Can we get going now? We kind of have a universe to save here?" said Gwen, impatiently.

"I haven't told you the most important fact yet. It is crucial that you listen to me on this: pick the losing side in this battle," said Paradox.

"And why on earth would I do that? I'm Ben Tennyson! I play to win!"

"This time, you'll die if you do that."

"Paradox is right on this one, Ben. You have to listen to him," said Gwen.

"No way! I do things my own way!"

"I can't bear to see you die. You're my cousin and that means we've gotta protect each other. Please Ben, if you're not doing this for Paradox, at least do it for me," pleaded Gwen.

"Whatever."

"Professor Paradox, can I speak with you for a moment in private?" asked Gwen.

"Of course you can, Ms. Tennyson," Paradox replied as he followed her a few hundred feet to a bench.

"Am I allowed to do magic? I mean it could alter history and of course, we don't want that."

"Only in the most dire of circumstances, such as to protect yourself, Ben or Kevin. Don't alter the events even if your side is losing. You can always teleport out of there back to the portal should events prove that to be necessary."

"Got it."

"Good. We must get going if Kevin is going to make it back here for lunch." Paradox and Gwen walked back to Ben and Kevin.

"So, are you going to tell us if we're on the Greek or Persian side?" asked Ben as soon as he saw Paradox approach.

"That too is for you to figure out."

"So you're going to leave me stranded without a clue as to what I'm supposed to find, fighting a losing battle against an enemy I know nothing about?"

"Pretty much. I thought it would be both fun and educational, which reminds me. I could've taken you to the History Museum in D.C to learn about this.

"Even a trip to the museum would be better than getting killed on the battlefield," said Ben and Kevin together.

"I agree. I hate the sight of blood. That's why you'll never see me be a doctor," said Gwen.

Why can't we go to the History Museum?" asked the trio.

"Oh, it will soon be turned into a pile of rubble by Milleous, who doesn't want any evidence of human existence. Ever since that referendum, he's been destroying all traces of civilization and transforming the capital into one giant fortress," said Paradox.

"Dang it, my day is ruined," said Ben.

"You can still have a bright ending if you go through that portal I created," Paradox said, smiling.

"What portal- Oh, that one," said Ben, noticing the blue orb of energy right next to him.

"We better get a move on people!" Gwen exclaimed.

"I'll be here waiting. Call me if you need anything."

"We'll be back soon. Don't worry," the trio said.

"Good luck!" Ben, Gwen and Kevin stepped through the portal. Ben saw history fly by his very eyes. Obama was elected President. A plane flew into the Twin towers. Al Gore invented the Internet. The Berlin Wall fell. The USA dropped the atomic bomb on Japan. Germany invaded Poland. The Stock Market crashed Archduke Franz Ferdinand was assassinated. The Titanic sank in the Atlantic. Centuries whizzed on by. Finally, they arrived in 480 B.C.

Athens, Greece, 480. B.C

Everyone ok?" Ben shouted.

"We're fine!" Gwen and Kevin replied.

"Any idea what side we're on?" Ben asked.

Gwen suddenly gasped. "Oh-My-God, I think we're all naked!"

Ben looked down. "Gah! Nobody look at me!"

"Let's just run to the nearest uniform facility and get some clothes," Kevin said.

"Great idea. The only problem is, we don't know where that is!" screeched Ben.

"Everyone start in a different direction and walk for a few minutes. If we're lucky, there ought to be some storeroom around here," suggested Gwen.

"Great idea. We'll meet up in 10 minutes," said Ben and Kevin.

The three teens began to walk blindly around with their eyes tightly shut. Soon, Gwen bumped into something hard.

"Hey watch it! That was my leg!" Ben shouted.

"Sorry!"

Kevin had some more success. After miraculously avoiding his two teammates, he wandered up a hill and onto an abandoned cottage. Inside, he found a chest full of clothing. He took out a pair, put them on and started to lug the chest back to Ben and Gwen, who were still wandering around aimlessly.

"Hey you lot! I found some clothing we can wear!"

"Awesome!" Ben said as he opened his eyes and immediately shut them again for he had seen a traumatizing image. Ben and Gwen each grabbed a pair of garments, both blushing furiously.

"We are all clothed and as such I can open my eyes and not be accused of indecent exposure by my cousin, right?" Ben asked.

"Right. Now we have to join the army," Gwen said.

"And we have to pick the right one, the losing one remember?" added Kevin.

"How are we going to do that?" Ben asked.

"Well, we have 50-50 shot at getting this correct the first time. Let's just continue walking and ask the first person we see," said Gwen. They continued up the hill, passed the abandoned cottage, onto the paved road, which led to a small town.

"I hope this town is Greek," Ben said.

"Let's ask the sentry over there," Kevin said as he approached the gate.

"Hey. Where can I find the nearest army recruiting station?" Kevin inquired.

"Ποιος είσαι εσύ;" the solider asked.

"Excuse me? Didn't catch that."

"Ποιος είσαι εσύ;" the soldier repeated as he leveled his spear at Kevin.

"Whoa! Back off buddy. I'm here to do your country a great service," Kevin said as Gwen and Ben came running.

"Idiot! They don't understand English. You'll have to use those universal translators that Paradox gave us,' Gwen said. All three of them took out the translators and put them on. Now they could understand and speak every single language fluently. They turned back to the guard, who was still waiting patiently for a response, although still with spear in hand.

"Hey you strangers! What are you doing in this town?"

"We are ordinary citizens who heard about the Persian invasion of Greece. We want to join the army to help stop the threat," Kevin explained.

"All right. Go through this gate and you'll see a sign that says: Army Recruiting Station. You'll have to give them your names and submit to a physical,"

"Thank you sir," Gwen said as they walked through the gate.

"Gwen! I just thought of something,' Ben said suddenly as they were searching for the station.

"And what is that?" Gwen asked.

"They won't let you into the army because they'll find out that you're a girl. You'll have to cut your hair and look buff or something."

"Great! Does anyone see a barber shop around here?"

"I have no clue. I can't read Greek."

"Hmm. I see a sign with a pair of scissors on it. Must be the barber shop!" Gwen yelled.

"Tell you what. Kevin and I'll go sign us up under fake names while you get your hair cut."

"Sounds like a plan to me," Gwen said. She practically ran to the barber shop while Ben and Kevin shuffled forwards.

"Hello there. What do you need help with young missy?" the store owner asked her.

"Is this a barber shop? I'd like to get my hair cut."

"You want me to cut your hair with an awl? The result won't be pretty, I can assure you."

"What? This isn't a barber shop?"

"No. This is a hardware store. The finest one in all of Greece. All sorts of tools, from chisels to axes and saws."

"Um, I'm not interested in tools."

"I also am a blacksmith. I make fine weapons. Swords, axes, pikes, spears, shields, bows and arrow. You name it, I've got it."

"Actually, come to think of it, I do need some weapons. My cousin's going off to fight in the war you see, and he needs the proper equipment."

"Ahh of course. He'll need armor, a shield, a spear and a sword," the merchant said as he handed over the weapons. "By the way, how will you pay for all of this?"

"Um yeah, about that. We're really poor and we can't afford any of this. But a draft's a draft, so my cousin has to fight."

"I understand. My son was also forced to join. I received word he was killed just a few weeks ago. I heard he killed over a dozen Persians before he was overwhelmed."

"I'm so sorry for your loss."

"I'll get over it. Here, take the weapons free of charge. It's the least I can do. Anything else I can help you with?"

"Yeah. You still haven't told me where the barber is."

"Oh, he's down the street from here. I think three doors down."

"Thanks sir!" Gwen yelled as she ran down the street towards the barber.

Meanwhile back at the recruiting station…

"Names?" the recruiter asked.

"I'm Darius III, this here is my brother, Alexander the Great and my cousin, Julius Caesar, who unfortunately had to leave for an important event," Ben invented wildly.

"Ok. If I have it correctly, you are trying to register your family for the defense of Greece?"

"That's exactly right sir."

"Ok. You guys are in if you can pass this one simple task."

"And what's that?" Kevin asked.

"The task is to run across a field of stinging nettles without crying aloud. If you can prove you can endure the pain, you're in."

"And what kind of torture is this? In my country-ouch! Why'd you hit me Kev- I mean Alexander?"

"The U.S doesn't exist yet and won't for another 2000 years!" Kevin hissed.

"Yes, you were saying in your country, what?"

"Um, we do that kind of thing all the time in my country."

"And where might your country be. Sounds an awful lot like Sparta."

"Yeah! Sparta! As I was saying, I have to do that a lot in Sparta. Great country to live in , don't you think?"

"Sparta's a city-state, not a country. Are you not a learned person?"

"No I'm not. I'm an illiterate peasant who used to work on my father's farm all day before he died."

"That explains a lot. Anyways, enough chit-chat. It's time to begin your test."

"Can we wait till my cousin gets back here. He's getting his hair cut at the barber as we speak."

At the Barber's

"Let me get this straight. You want me to cut your hair so you are almost bald," the barber said.

"Yep. That's exactly what I said."

"And why would you want to look like that?"

"Can you keep a secret?"

"I swear on the river Styx that I shall."

"Ok. I want to join the army."

"You? A girl?! Get out of here! You won't survive one step!"

"Just cut my hair already!"

Ten minutes later, Gwen emerged looking almost like a boy. There was only one small problem as Ben and Kevin immediately saw.

"Your chest is disproportionate to the rest of your body," Ben said laughing.

"I can't help that! Puberty happened ok?"

"We'll just say that he has a deformity that makes him look like a girl," Kevin said.

"By the way, your name is Julius Caesar. I just made up a random name. Worked out perfectly, didn't it?" Ben asked.

"Caesar wasn't even born yet, but whatever."

"Hello, are you Julius Caesar?" the recruiter asked.

"Yes sir, I am."

"Right. Your cousin already registered you. All you have to do is pass the test and all of you are in."

The four of them walked to the testing field. It was covered in nettles.

"On your mark, get set, Go!" the recruiter yelled. Gwen quickly cast a spell to block all outsiders from hearing their screams of pain. Thus, although their legs were covered in angry welts, it seemed as though they hadn't made a sound.

"Wow! You guys should try out for the Olympics! That was a new world record! You're all in!"

"Awesome. Now I get to play soldier and kill people right?" Ben asked.

"Well yes. We don't have time to train you, so you'll have to learn on the spot. Dress quickly. You must go to Sparta to meet with King Leonidas." The three changed into their cumbersome armor, shouldered their weapons and prepared to make the march to Sparta, which was estimated to take a few days at a fast pace.

Road from Athens to Sparta ≈150 miles

"So Gwen? What took you so long?" Ben asked.

"I went to the wrong store. The one with the scissors on it was hardware store. I wasted 20 minutes there chatting with the owner, who kept trying to get me to buy his weapons. I finally did, just to shut him up."

"Hahaha." Ben laughed.

Kevin suddenly collapsed on the ground and yanked on Ben's leg.

"Why don't you just teleport us? I'm dying in this armor," Kevin complained.

"No you're not."

"It's called heat stroke. Kinda hard to avoid when you've been baking outside for the past five hours!"

"Fine! I'll teleport you this time."

In a flash they landed in Sparta.

Sparta

"Hello soldiers. You must be the new recruit that Athens sent to get hands on training," a voice said.

"Huh, yeah. That's us," Be replied.

"I never expected you so early. They only sent me that report six hours ago."

"Oh, we all ran like that runner at the Battle of Marathon. You know, the guy who ran 26 miles in two hours."

"Yes, I've heard of him. Such a pity he died after delivering the news of a victory. Anyways, I'm King Leonidas of Sparta. Who are you?"

"I'm Darius III, no relation to that Persian king," Ben said.

"I'm Alexander the Great," said Kevin.

"And I'm Julius Caesar," finished Gwen.

"Pleased to meet all of you," Leonidas said. Suddenly there was a commotion outside the city gates. A sentry came in with a Persian under the white flag of truce.

"What do you want?" Leonidas asked the Persian.

"My master, King Xerxes, has demanded that you surrender or face the consequences."

"I choose to fight!"

"That is not an option."

"You bring the crowns and heads of conquered kings to my city steps. You threaten my people with slavery and death!"

"You're a madman! No one threatens a messenger!"

"Oh really?"

"This is madness!"

"Madness?... THIS IS SPARTA!".

"Ok. I'll just be going then." The messenger flees the city.

"Was that really necessary? You scared the devil out of that guy," Ben said.

"Yes. I had to get him pissed so he'd run back to Xerxes and Xerxes would try to invade us."

"So we better prepare for the defense of the city?" Gwen asked.

"No. We are meeting the Athenians on the plains of Thermopylae. I feel that the flat terrain gives us an advantage."

"And where will we be in all of this?" Kevin asked.

"You are a part of my Spartan legion. Come, we must march onwards to Thermopylae."

Plains of Thermopylae

After a long day's march, Leonidas' army finally reached Thermopylae. There they were met by the Athenian commander, Plato.

"We number no more than 20,000 troops. That is what Lord Zeus sent us and that is what we have to make battle with," Plato briefed Leonidas.

"How many Persians are we going up against?" Leonidas asked, dreading the answer.

"Anywhere from 100,000 to 200,000 of the enemy."

"Good lord. This'll be the greatest slaughter in history."

"Not so. I believe we have better training and better equipment. We'll probably lose, but the Persians shall suffer greatly."

"Tell your men to get some rest. I shall do likewise. We attack at dawn tomorrow."

The Night Before

"Ok guys. Are you ready for the big one?" Ben asked.

"The one where every last one of us dies? I'd rather not think about it right now," replied Gwen.

"And I thought we'd be in and out by now. Paradox still owes me a Big Mac!" Kevin grumbled.

"Relax people. Nobody's gonna die. At the first sign of real action, I'll go hero and wipe every last Persian off the map."

"If you do that Ben, you'll be changing history. Paradox said that's extremely dangerous to do!"

"Since when did I let Paradox be the boss of me? I can do whatever I want! I always have and it's always worked out in the end."

"That's because you had me and Kevin to bail you out. There's no telling if that will happen tomorrow."

"I'm done talking. Try and get some sleep you two. It's going to be a long next few days."

The trio drifted off to sleep. In his dreams, Ben imagined turning into Waybig and annihilating the Persians.

Battle of Thermopylae-Day 3

The diary of King Leonidas of Sparta

Dear Diary,

For the past two days, my men have defended, against overwhelming odds, the Greek homeland. Every attack the Persians have launched has been repelled, with great loss of life on both sides. We have been reduced to a few thousand men, most of whom are wounded. Against us are over 50,000 troops under King Xerxes. At the sight of this vast army, our Athenian allies withdrew into the heartland, trusting us to fight a delaying action and kill as many Persians as possible before we ourselves are eventually killed. I pray to the almighty Zeus so that he may look favorably upon us and grant us the will to resist one last time. Long live Greece! I have failed my country and must now pay the price. I hope whoever finds this diary will treat it well.

Sincerely,

King Leonidas of Sparta

King Leonidas signed his name and sighed. Perhaps this was the last entry he was ever going to make. He made up his mind and decided to fight until the last man.

"Gather around me my brave warriors. Hear my final speech before I die at the hands of some obscure Persian."

The remaining members of Leonidas' army gathered around him to hear his speech.

"Are we all here?"

"No. The wounded refuse to leave their tents and have elected to commit suicide instead. We only number around three hundred," Ben said.

"Be as it may be, we shall still fight till the bitter end. I am proud to have been your commander throughout this entire campaign. Now I release you from your bondage of servitude. Do whatever you feel like doing. I will not stop you. Now it's every man for himself!"

"I say we stay and fight!" Ben yelled.

"Aye!" three hundred voices shouted.

King Leonidas mentioned for Ben to talk with him in private.

"Darius III, I have noticed your extraordinary talent for rousing my army. Perhaps you would like to take over as commander?"

"Of course sir. It would be an honor."

"I now pronounce you leader of the army of Sparta!"

"Thank you sir." Ben walked back to Gwen and Kevin.

"Listen, I just got promoted to commander."

"That's awesome!" Gwen said.

"Now you can really kick some butt!" Kevin commented.

"Listen, I don't know if I can lead you guys. Perhaps you guys can help me?"

"I saw this exact battle in the movie _300. _Every last Greek here was slaughtered," Gwen said.

"Would you agree that I have to change history now?" Ben asked.

"I'm not so sure, but go ahead. We can't die now!" Kevin said.

"At least give the impression that you're trying to lead. Then you can transform into the one man army," Gwen said.

"I don't know any ancient battle formations! What can I do?" Ben moaned.

"Try the Phalanx formation. It was standard Greek strategy at the time," Gwen said.

"What's that?" Ben asked.

"It involves marching with your shield held in front of you to deflect any missiles launched horizontally. It is not effective against those fired parabolically."

"I bet the Persian will try that eventually. What else is there?"

"This one wasn't invented until the rise of the Roman Empire about 500 years after this battle. Besides, it probably won't work with the shields of this time period."

"Just tell me!"

"The Testudo formation was used by the Romans to counter missiles coming from all directions. It involves a group of soldiers raising their shields so that the front, back, and sides are covered. The only downsides are that it reduces mobility and fighting ability."

"Hmm. I think I'll have half of the troops do a Testudo while the other half does the Phalanx." Just then a soldier ran in.

"Darius sir. The Persian Army is advancing towards our position. We're going to lose!"

"Not if I can help it. Assemble the troops!" Ben cried.

Within seconds, all the troops were lined up and awaiting Ben's orders.

"Half of you do the Phalanx. The other half, follow my orders. I need 15 rows of 10 soldiers each. The front and back rows will cover the front and back of the formation respectively. The people on the sides will need to cover the sides of the formation. The rest of you, lift you're your shield above your heads and cover the top. This should make you immune to all the arrows," Ben said.

"And what will you be doing Ben?" whispered Gwen.

"You and Kevin will stay with me here, praying for a miracle."

To the rest of the troops, he said, "Ok everybody. Hope for a miracle! Now run at the Persians and hope you don't get killed before said miracle happens!"

The troops all ran at the advancing Persians yelling strange battle cries. Fierce hand to hand combat soon erupted and the Greeks slowly gave way under vastly superior numbers.

"Ok Ben. Ready to change history?" Gwen asked.

"You bet I am!"

"My burger depends on it!" Kevin said.

In a flash, Ben transformed into Waybig and Gwen teleported them to the site of the battle. The Persians had the Greeks encircled and were slowly tightening the noose when Ben arrived. Fewer than 100 Spartans were still alive.

"I am he who is called Waybig! I was sent by Lord Zeus to punish you Persian worms!" Waybig roared.

The Persians sent 50,000 arrows flying at him, but they simply broke against Waybig's skin.

"Hah! You did not do any damage to me! Now it is time for me to return the favor!" Waybig began to charge up his cosmic destruction ray.

"Run everybody! We cannot fight against the Gods!" screamed King Xerxes.

"It's too late! Your reign of terror has come to an end!" The cosmic ray incinerated everything for five miles including all 50,000 of Xerxes' troops. Xerxes himself was spared as was the rest of Darius' army.

"What did you do to my army?" Xerxes yelled.

"I banished them to the depths of Hades."

"Arrgh! I give up! There's no point in fighting against a God."

"Actually, there was no God. It was just me."

"What do you mean?"

Waybig transformed back to Darius III aka Ben Tennyson. "See what I mean?"

"Who are you?"

"You mean, who are we? We are time travelers from the 21st century," Gwen said.

"Time travel? That's impossible!" Xerxes snorted.

"Not if you have magic, like this." Gwen snapped her fingers and Professor Paradox suddenly appeared.

"I know you! You're that time walker that never dies!"

"You were expecting someone else?"

"I'm tired of your constant meddling!"

Xerxes turned to Ben, Gwen and Kevin. "He's been sending people back to alter the events of this battle for quite some time now. I mean it's happened like 50 times already. Every single time we've lost."

"Wow! It sure sucks to be you!" Ben said.

"Now you realize my life. It's so pointless that I want to go somewhere else."

"Like where?"

"How about with you guys? I've always wanted to see what life 26 centuries into the future looks like."

"Hmm. Professor Paradox, can we bring people from the past into our time stream?"

"I don't think a few would hurt. BUT ONLY A FEW!"

"Thanks Professor," said Gwen.

Paradox turned to Ben. "I believe you found what you were looking for?"

"Yep. First lesson to being a good leader: Always let your soldiers go into battle before you do. It cuts down on the chances of you getting killed."

"That wasn't what I had in mind, but I'm sure your strategy would work too."

"Can we go home now? I think I just missed lunch," Kevin complained.

"Nonsense! It's only 11:30 in the morning."

"Anyways, I'm hungry, so can we please go now?"

Paradox opened the portal again and him, Ben, Gwen, Kevin and King Xerxes stepped through.

UN, Geneva, Switzerland

Max beamed when he saw the trio reappear, but his smile disappeared when he saw the newcomer. "Who's this?" he asked.

"He's a Persian king who lived around 2,600 years ago. His name's King Xerxes," Gwen explained.

"Who are you old man? You look like you're about to die of old age," Xerxes said.

"I am Max Tennyson. These are my Grandkids Ben Tennyson, Gwen Tennyson and their friend, Kevin E. Levin."

"Who?"

Ben stepped in. "I used fake names to register for the army. I was Darius III, but my real name is Ben Tennyson. Gwen was Julius Caesar and Kevin was Alexander the Great. Sorry to deceive you like that."

"And where are we exactly?"

"This place is known as Geneva, Switzerland, home of the UN."

"What's that?"

"Oh, you have a bunch of things to learn about. Let we walk you through. But first I'm hungry!" said Kevin.

"Yeah! Let's go to the McDonalds on the corner. Paradox, you're paying!"

"I haven't had fast food in ages! Why should I have to pay?"

"You have all kinds of money from every century. We, on the other hand, are dead broke."

"Fine. But don't think I'll do it again, even if you ask nicely! My job is a mentor, not a piggy bank!"

The six of them all laughed and headed to the McDonalds on the corner.

How did you like it? What time period should the quartet hit next? Where in the world should they go next? Fav and review please!


	6. Chaos in the Middle Kingdom

**Incursean Invasion-Part 6**

In this part: Ben, Gwen, Kevin, Rook, Max and Xerxes travel back to ancient China to recover a revolutionary book that will teach Ben all the military strategies that he will need to know. However, finding it will not be easy as 450s B.C China is in the midst of a bloody internal conflict known as the Warring States Period!

Note: The Mandarin here is westernized.

Warning: contains graphic violence, summary executions, implied drug use, suicide and threats of suicide, death by burning, songs by Disney, drag-racing, references to real-life people and real events, references to the Harry Potter universe, disrespect of elders, swearing, attempted assassinations, successful assassinations and a major character death. Don't read if you're offended by any or all of these. The pair of asterisks is my lame attempt at character bonding. Skip it if you feel it sucks.

On the way to McDonalds, Ben suddenly realized they had forgotten a very important someone.

"What happened to President Obama, Gramps?" he asked.

"Oh. I left him in a secure location in the basement of the UN complex telling him that we'll come and get him once the war is over," Max said.

"You left him with no security?! What if the Incurseans come looking for him?" Gwen asked.

"Heck! I don't even remember where I put the President! I suppose we'll have to search for him later."

Behind them, Xerxes was gesturing at everything excitedly. "What's this?" he asked, pointing to the sidewalk where they were walking on.

"That's a road made out of cement that people can walk on," Kevin explained.

"Ah… I've heard of cement. It's that material that people put on roads to make it all smooth. Much better than paved stone."

"Anything else you want to know about?"

"What's that hunk of metal that's moving on the street?"

"That's a car. It's sorta like a mechanical chariot."

"Oooh! I have a chariot! I beat I can beat that car over there in a race!"

"That's not the best idea. I don't think-," Kevin began.

Xerxes snapped his fingers and a chariot suddenly appeared with four horses. Ben, Gwen and Max turned around.

"Whoa! Where did that come from?" Max asked.

"I think he used magic," Gwen said.

"Magic? No, there was no magic. I was just born with the ability to summon stuff," Xerxes said.

"But you can do so across time periods! That's magic!" Gwen exclaimed.

"Not so Ms. Tennyson," Paradox said, smiling.

"What do you mean?"

"Any individual, when brought to a future century, is able to summon anything from his time period that he wants to help him."

"Seems like some sort of law to me," Max said.

"In fact, it is a law. Specifically Article I, Section VI of the International Convention Regarding Time Travel or ICRTT for short."

"I've never heard of it."

"Well, that's because humans only invented time travel machines in the 22md century."

"Hello? I'm starving back here, so would you mind finishing your conversation so we can get to the McDonalds by closing time?" Kevin shouted.

"I'm so sorry, Mr. Levin. I was just explaining the rules of the game, so to speak."

Have no worries my newly found friends! We can ride in the chariot and get to this McDonalds that you speak of," Xerxes said.

"Are you a certified driver?" Ben asked.

"Of course I am! I once placed first in the Olympics in Greece before I joined the Persian Army. You'll be perfectly safe with me!"

"I'm not sure. That chariot looks a bit shaky," Ben told Gwen, Max and Kevin.

"Don't be a wuss, Ben. I've got this covered," Gwen said as she grabbed Ben's arm and forced him into the chariot. Max and Kevin followed.

"Don't worry about me! I'll be waiting inside the UN for you when you come back. There's another mission you guys have to do," Paradox said as he vanished.

"Ok, Xerxes. Just drive to the restaurant with the golden M. Try not to get into any altercations with other motorists," Max warned. It was already too late.

"Hey man! I bet my four horses that you could never beat me in a race!" Xerxes yelled at a driver in a red mustang. The driver looked at him and laughed.

"You and that puny chariot? My car has got 250 horsepower!"

"What's horsepower?" Xerxes whispered to Gwen.

"It's a measure of how much power your vehicle has. That car has the equivalent of 250 horses pulling on it."

"I don't believe in numbers! I'm going to win this!" Xerxes shouted.

"The first vehicle to the next intersection wins!" the driver proclaimed. The light turned green and the race was on! The driver gunned the engine and quickly took the lead. Seeing that he was losing, Xerxes started to drive on the left side of the road.

_ Beeeep!_

"Watch it, Xerxes!" Ben yelled. "I think the Swedes drive on the right. You can't drive into oncoming traffic like that!"

"You almost gave me a heart attack," said Max.

"I have money. I can afford to pay my medical expenses," Xerxes replied as he continued to drive on the left. A semi swerved and just barely avoided the chariot.

"I'm driving!" Gwen announced. She conjured up magical reins and wrenched the car to the right. "Give me those controls!" Xerxes screamed as the two fought for control of the chariot. The chariot careened into the path of a plumbing service truck.

"Look out for that oddly familiar truck!" Ben screamed.

"It's the proto-truck!" Gwen yelled. "Rook! Look out!"

"What am I looking out for, Gwen?" Rook yelled.

"We're going to hit you!" Gwen screamed.

"If you wreck my chariot, you'll pay big time!" Xerxes swore.

"Not if I can help it!" Ben said. He quickly transformed into Bloxx and physically separated the chariot from the proto-truck while blocking all lanes of traffic. Kevin jumped out, covered himself in cement and ran to the front of the chariot, acting as a makeshift front bumper. The chariot stopped just after bumping into Bloxx. Rook got out of the truck, shaken but unhurt. Bloxx transformed back into Ben and everyone else got out of the chariot.

"Why did I even let you drive? You almost got us killed!" Max scolded Xerxes.

"Hey! I didn't sign up for 21st century driving. I was made for 4th century B.C chariot racing! Back then, we had no such thing as rules of the road!" Xerxes countered.

"You are not driving then until you become accustomed with the 21st century," Max decided. He walked over to Rook. "Are you all right son?"

"I am fine Magister Tennyson. Thank you for your concern."

"Hey Rook! Where were you?" Ben asked.

"Magister Tennyson sent me on patrol duty, which happened to take me to the Burger Shack. I got you all burgers and chili fries."

"Thanks Rook! You're much better than my former teammates here," Ben mentioned to Gwen and Kevin, "They wouldn't let me eat that stuff!"

"You know, Ben, it was for your own good. Too much junk food is bad for you, especially when you're going through puberty," Gwen said.

"Your point is? You're the same age as me. We're both 17."

"Whatever. I suppose we could indulge a bit. It's been forever since I had this stuff!" Gwen exclaimed as she began to hungrily devour her portion.

"So Ben, what have you been up to?" Rook asked.

"I waz goin through tim nd learning de art uff military strategee," Ben tried to say as he chomped on 20 fries at a time.

"Come again? What did you say you were doing?"

"I said, I was going through time and learning the art of military strategy."

"Ben didn't actually learn anything. It was just something he said to satisfy Paradox," Kevin corrected.

"Excuse me? I did learn not to be at the front of your troops when attacking the enemy," Ben retorted.

"If you count relearning how to be a coward as learning then I suppose so," Kevin said.

"Cut it out you two! Would you mind going back in time to help us out?" Max asked.

"Of course sir. Anything to help defeat Milleous."

As soon as they were done, Rook drove them all back to the UN, where Paradox was waiting for them.

"Back again? I trust that your lunch went well?"

"It was lousy in more ways than one," said Kevin.

"That's too bad. Anywho, I have a very special mission for you all. If you complete this one successfully, Ben will have all the resources he needs to lead the rebellion. Of course, you'll still need to go back in time to practice those strategies."

"What's the mission?" Ben asked.

"I'm getting to that. You are to go to ancient China a retrieve a sacred book."

"A book? You're kidding, right? How is a book going to help me defeat Milleous?"

"It's not just any old book. This book is considered the greatest books on military strategy ever published. Generals throughout history have used it. In fact, it is required reading for anyone who wants to join the U.S military."

"If it's that famous, then why don't we go to the local library and borrow one?"

"That's not possible. You'll have to go directly to the source and get it yourself. To make this more interesting, I'm not going to tell you what the book is called or who wrote it. You'll have to figure that all out on your own."

"Come on Paradox! The world is at stake here! Why can't you just tell us the title already? Then we could at least have a chance of finding it."

"At least one of your party already knows the name of the book."

"That's a great help! How do we know who the person is?"

"All will reveal itself shortly, but first, I must take Xerxes here on a trip to the 22nd century to learn about your century," Paradox said as he pulled Xerxes into the time portal. Ten minutes later, Xerxes came out babbling about all the wondrous things he had learned.

"Did you know that to time travel, you just need to travel faster than the speed of light, which is currently impossible, but will be achieved in the next 50 years?"

"Yeah, we know," Kevin said.

"I bet you don't know that humans will one day live on Mars!"

"Never cared about that and I never will," Ben replied. Paradox reappeared.

"Is Xerxes bothering you?"

"Yes he is! Can we leave him here with you?" Ben asked.

"No. He's essential to finding the book."

"Ah ha!" Gwen shouted, "He knows what the book is called!"

"How did you deduce that?" Ben asked.

"I put two and two together."

"And you came up with five. I'm not telling you if he actually knows or not, so your plan failed! Here's the portal to China! Good luck!" The six heroes stepped into the portal. The world spun. Everyone screamed and lost consciousness.

Ancient China-450 B.C

Ben groggily opened his eyes. _Where am I, he thought._

_Clang! Clang!_

"Wake up Oogway! You're late to the Shaolin Temple! Master Shifu expected you to be there at noon sharp, but it's already 11 A.M and you're still not ready!"a shrill voice said.

"Go away, Gwen, and let me sleep," Ben groaned.

"Who's Gwen? You have girlfriend already? I told you no girlfriend!"

"Yes, I have a girlfriend, but it's not Gwen! Anyways, who are you?"

"Who am I? I am your father and I am ordering you out of bed right this instant!" An old man stood directly in front of Ben glowering at him.

"You must be mistaken. I am not your son. I am a kid from the future who is on a mission to find a book."

"Keep dreaming Oogway! After the temple, perhaps we can send you to a prestigious university. Then you can read all the books you want."

"My name is not Oogway! It's Ben Tennyson!"

"Oogway is a moniker. We call you this because you're slow in everything you do, including getting out of bed!"

"Just five more minutes."

"You want me to bang the pots and pans again? I told you to get up and I mean it!"

"Ok, ok. I'm getting up."

"That's more like it. You have ten minutes to get dressed. Your mother and I will be waiting for you." The man left the room.

_What have I gotten myself into? Why does the old man think I'm his son? Why do I have to go to the temple? Where's everybody else? Where am I?_ Thoughts swirled inside Ben's head as he got up from the bed and headed downstairs.

"Hello Oogway. I see that you are finally up," a short haired woman said.

"I'm sorry; I must have gotten amnesia from sleeping too much or something. Who am I and who are all of you guys?" Ben asked.

"This is Ryu, your mother, I'm Chou, your father, and you are Chang."

"Why do I have to go to the temple?"

"You must prepare to join the army. The temple is where you will complete your training," Chou said.

"I don't want to join the army! I've had enough experience with the Greek Army!"

"Greek Army? What blasphemy is this? You haven't been out of China in your entire life!" Chou roared.

"Come now dear husband. Don't yell at him. He's got his first lesson in an hour and he still hasn't eaten breakfast," Ryu scolded. She turned to Ben. "What do you want to eat, son?"

"You have any Sumo Slammers cereal?"

"I don't know what that is. We have rice gruel, pickled vegetables, mantou and sliced beef. What do you want to eat?" Ryu asked.

"I think I'll have it all," Ben said. He cut open the mantou, put the beef in the center and made himself a sandwich. Ten minutes later, after this filling breakfast, Ben felt ready to go to the temple.

"Here's twenty Yuan to pay for the taxi," Chou said.

"Can't I just walk?"

"It takes half an hour to walk there. It's better to take the taxi."

"Fine," Ben said as he took the money and headed out the door.

"Oh my son is all grown up!" Ryu cried.

"This training will make him a man!" Change declared.

On the other side of town

Ming Pao Ads

_ New Shaolin Temple Grand Master wanted! Must be black belt and willing to work with complete novices. Benefits: You get to order people around and make and screw your own rules. Competitive wages! What happened to the old master you ask? He was permanently handicapped after his former student "accidentally" kicked the guy in the lower back, causing a permanent bending of the spine. To avoid this, we encourage all masters to respect their students._

"Hmmm," Gwen said, reading the advertisement. "Looks like my specialty. Only problem is, I don't know how to get there!" She walked past a man on the side of the road.

"Excuse me sir, but do you know how to get to Wudang Shaolin Temple?"

"I do," the man said, "It's just a 45 minute walk from here."

"Thank you sir," Gwen said as she ran towards the temple. About twenty minutes later, she passed a small cottage. The man and woman waved her inside.

"Are you the new kung-fu instructor?" Chou asked.

"Yes. Is anything wrong?"

"Our son just started this morning. He's a bit slow, so please try and be patient with him," Ryu said.

"I'll try my best." Gwen left the house and continued on her journey.

Meanwhile…

"Taxi! Taxi!" Ben shouted. An old man pulling a rickshaw slowed down in front of Ben.

"You have need for taxi?" he asked.

"Yes. I need it to get to Wudang temple."

"Give me ten Yuan and I shall take you there." Ben gave the man his ten Yuan and hopped in the rickshaw. Ten minutes later, Ben arrived at the temple. It was a slightly crooked grey structure of five stories.

_I wonder who on Earth would want to train here, He thought._

Ben pushed open the tall doors and walked inside. "Hello! Is anybody home?" he said. He was met with silence. "I guess I'll just wait outside for the teacher then." He walked back outside and sat on the steps. Five minutes later, a red-haired tall girl came running up the steps and tripped over him.

"Hey! Watch where you sit, will you?" The girl shouted at Ben.

"I'm sorry, I didn't mean to block your path like that," Ben replied sheepishly.

"Who are you?"

"I'm the new student. My "parents" sent me to the temple to learn Kung-Fu. Said it was in preparation for the military."

"Hold on- Are you the one called Oogway because you're slow at everything you do?"

Ben turned red. "How did you know that?"

"I met his parents on the way here."

"So you're the replacement teacher?"

"Well you could say that. I was just passing through town when I noticed the ad for the new teacher. Technically, I'm not qualified to teach, but I do have a black-belt, so I thought, why not?"

"I don't believe you. You look about my age."

"Is that a challenge? Ok, let's go inside and see what you're really made of!"

Ben followed the mysterious girl into the arena. She turned around and he gasped.

"Gwen? Is that you?" He ran over and hugged her. She reciprocated in kind.

"Where were you? I've been looking everywhere for you!" Ben said.

"I told you. I was wandering through town and I found this temple. I guess it was pure coincidence that we met when we did."

"You haven't met any of the others?" Ben asked, meaning Kevin, Rook, Max or Xerxes.

"No. I'm sorry."

"So what do you want to do now?"

"I guess I could spar with you while we figure out what to do. Go transform into one of your aliens."

"Are you sure we don't want to go search for them first?"

"It's noon time now. The streets are full of people. It'll be harder to track the rest of our team with so much interference."

"I don't feel like sparring. Let's just talk."

"About what?"

"About why our relationship changed all of a sudden."

"Hmm. I guess we learned to care about each other more."

"Yeah. I still remember when we were like ten. I used to think you were the biggest dweeb on the block!"

"That's funny. I still think you're a doofus sometimes."

"But then I realized that…that even though we had our squabbles, deep down, I knew I would do anything for you."

"Remember that time when you went hero, even though the Omnitrix could have self-destructed, just to save me from those mutant plant things?"

"Yeah. Why?"

"I never told you how grateful I was. You risked your own life to save your annoying cousin!"

"I couldn't bear to see you hurt."

"That's so sweet of you."

"Everything changed when we turned 15. All of a sudden, you were civil towards me."

"I said it was only because we were searching for Grandpa Max, but I wasn't entirely truthful. We bonded through that and I guess it sorta lasted till the present."

"We argued a lot less frequently after that."

"Yes. Until we were faced with our first challenge: Mutant Kevin."

"I remember that! I wanted to kill him because I thought he was too far gone."

"And I wanted to save him."

"It led to our first actual battle, which you won because I was holding back."

"I actually tried to get rid of you because you were in the way."

"If you really were, you would have killed me once you knocked me out!"

"But I didn't. I knew I wouldn't be able to forgive myself for not listening to you."

Ha-ha. Turns out I was right after all. Kevin could be saved if you knew how to get to him."

"And it was lucky you did. Kevin's one valuable guy to have around!"

"That's for sure. I'm glad you gave him a second chance."

I'm proud to have you as a cousin, Gwen."

"Me too!"

"Would you look at the time! It's already 5," Ben said.

"The Omnitrix now has a built in watch?"

"Yup. I programmed it. As we can't bring cell-phones back in time, I had to be able to get the time somehow."

"Smart move. Can you meet me back here in 20 minutes?"

"Sure, but why?"

"Just to tell your "parents" that you'll be with me for a while. Make something up about what it is that we'll be doing." Ben ran down the steps, hailed a rickshaw and managed to make home it back in 10 minutes.

"Hello son, how was training?" asked Chou.

"It was great! I have a favor to ask you though."

"What is it?" asked Ryu.

"I have to go on a special field trip with my teacher. We have to visit other martial arts temples and stuff. The whole trip might take a couple of weeks."

"The first day we send you to school, you're already scheming to get out of our clutches!" Chou raged.

"That's not how it is! I love you guys, but I have to go!"

"Humph," Chou snorted, " You said you got amnesia remember? You couldn't even recognize your own parents, let alone tell them you love them!"

"Just let him go. It's for an educational purpose."

"Family comes before education in Asian culture! You're not going!" Chou told Ben.

"Don't make me do something I'm going to regret," Ben said.

"What are you going to do? Try and get past me? You're so slow that my mama could beat you to your own funeral!"

"What? That doesn't make any sense whatsoever."

"It's not supposed to make sense!"

"Are you going to let me go or not?"

" FOR THE LAST TIME, NO WAY IN 10000 YEARS!"

"I'm sorry I have to do this to you then."

"Bring it on Oogway! I'll be waiting for you, if you even get here while I'm still alive that is!"

Ben transformed into XLR8 and bowled the old man down. Chou had a heart attack from the shock of seeing such insane speed and died on the spot, face-down on the ground."

"I told the old man that he would hurt himself eventually and I was right," Ryu said.

"Sorry I killed your husband. I didn't mean to."

"It's fine. I never really liked him anyway."

"What?! How can you say such a thing?"

"See for yourself." Ben's father turned into a DNAlien.

"Eww. That's gross! Anyways, who are you? Are you an alien too?" Ben asked cautiously, his hand on the Omnitrix dial.

"Calm yourself. I'm a plumber like you. Paradox sent me here to help you guys find the book."

"I got to verify that." He used the Omnitrix to scan her. "Human DNA detected," the Omnitrix said.

"Ok, you're clean. Let's go to the temple."

The plumber grabbed onto XLR8 and they got to the temple in a minute.

"Who's this, Ben?" Gwen asked.

"I'm Molly Günter from the Alpha Squad. You might have seen me around during some of your previous missions. I was the one, for example, told Rook how to stop that crazy cat lady's mind control of you, Ben."

"I thank you for that."

"So Paradox sent you to help us find the book?" Gwen asked.

"Uh-huh. He knew you guys would probably need help navigating and he was right. Also, I'm quite good at H2H."

"Yeah. I think we can take care of ourselves on that one. Hand to hand was always Kevin's specialty," Ben said.

"We don't have him with us right now. I can be the sub."

"I guess you can help us then," Gwen said.

"Did I also tell you that I'm fluent in over 20 languages including Chinese?"

"We won't need that service. We've got language translators," Ben said.

"And the language translators got most of the translations from Google."

"I see our point. Ok, you're in!" Ben decided.

Five minutes later, everyone was doing last minute checks in preparation for the long journey.

"Are you sure you have everything Gwen?"

"Yeah. Shirts, pants, intimate apparel, trail mix, spell book, chips, hotdogs, locket with Kevin's picture on it, …"

"My list is more exciting. Sumo slammers for the Wii-U, Raman noodles, Wii-U,_ Frozen_, all 552 episodes of the Simpsons, South Park, …" (They begin the journey up a mountain at this point.)

"_ Frozen_? You've watched it like 10 times already! You don't even have a DVD player!"

"Correction. I did not have a DVD player until I hacked the Wii-U as Grey Matter and added it."

"As long as you don't start singing! If you do, I'm going to magically seal your lips!"

"I've seen _Frozen_. Magister Tennyson made us all watch it during the holiday," chimed in Molly.

"Yeah! And now you can't _Let It Go_!" exclaimed Ben.

"I'm warning you, Ben."

"You know you want to sing along! If you do just this one, I won't sing it anymore…ever!"

"Fine, if this'll make you shut-up!"

"The snow glows bright on the mountain tonight…"

"Not a footprint to be seen…" sang Gwen halfheartedly.

"A kingdom of isolation…"

"And it looks like, I'm the queen…"

Thirty seconds later…

"LET IT GO! LET IT GO! CAN'T HOLD IT BACK ANYMORE!"

"Ben! Keep it down! Do you want us to be discovered?"

"Nobody can hear us for miles. We're on a mountain for Christ's sake!"

"Still, it is wise to not announce our presence," Molly said.

"No one can hear-Arggh!" They all stopped their forwards motion.

"What happened, Ben?" cried Gwen.

"I got shot in the arm with a crossbow!" Ben screamed as he looked down to see the arrow sticking out of his forearm.

"Hold on. I've got a first aid kit in my bag," said Molly.

"Don't do anything stupid." Gwen said, calmly.

"Too late. I yanked it out already!" Ben said as he watched the blood gush out.

"It's an ambush!" Gwen cried as arrows began to rain down on the three of them. She erected a dome that prevented any further damage.

"Can you run to that cave over there, Ben?" Molly asked, pointing to a small opening in the mountain that was, coincidentally, just large enough for three people.

"I can if I don't faint first!"

Gwen and Molly half dragged/half carried Ben to the cave, where Molly applied a tourniquet. The blood still gushed out, so Molly put a bandage over the tourniquet, which stopped the bleeding. Just as they were about to continue on their journey, a voice shouted at them.

"Come out from there! We have you surrounded!"

"And if we don't?" Gwen yelled back.

"You can come out and be prisoners of the Qin Empire or be shot full of arrows!"

"I have to discuss this with the rest of my team. Give us two minutes!"

"Fine. But no more!"

"What do you guys think? Should be go with them or fight?" Gwen whispered to Ben and Molly.

"I'm in no condition to battle right now. I say we go with the soldiers," said Ben.

"Perhaps we can find Grandpa Max, Rook or Kevin wherever they're taking us," said Gwen.

"Dang it! I was going to say we fight, but I guess two beats one."

Gwen poked her head out of the cave. "We'll go with you," she told the soldier. A minute later, Gwen and Molly were prodded up the mountain at spear-point. Ben had to be carried because he couldn't walk on his own (a side effect of seeing his own blood). They marched for four days without stopping except for the occasional food and bathroom break. By the end, all three were tired and sweaty. Finally they reached the Qin Emperor's Imperial Palace, a huge fortress made with gilded roof tiles.

"Sir, we brought you some prisoners! What shall we do with them?" the garrison commanded asked of the Emperor.

"Let them rot in the dungeons until I see fit to try them. No doubt they are spies sent by the other states to learn about our plans."

"Yes sir!"

"Move!" the soldiers ordered as they shoved the trio down to the dungeons. "You know what's down here. This is where you'll stay until the emperor is ready to see you." The jail warden opened the prison door and pushed Ben inside.

"What about the others?" he inquired, meaning Molly and Gwen.

"Don't worry. They'll be housed in another part for uh… security purposes," the warden told him. Ben was left to his own devices as the guard led Gwen and Molly away. As soon as they left, Ben's eyelids grew heavy and he fell into a deep slumber.

"Ben- dude, wake up!" A voice shook Ben out of the comforting embrace of darkness.

"Whuz-goin-on? Who's there?" Ben asked groggily as he opened his eyes to see Rook smiling at him.

"Rook! Buddy! It's so good to see you again!" Ben cried as he ran towards the blue Revonnahgander and hugged him.

"What are you doing Ben? I have researched your species and have concluded that displays of affection between two human beings of the male gender indicate abnormality."

"What was that you just said?" Ben asked, curious, as he was still hugging Rook and getting his ears smashed.

"Oh, it was nothing. It is good to see you too Ben."

"So how'd you end up in this dump?" Ben asked, glancing around the prison.

"We and by that I mean myself, your grandpa, Kevin and that guy you brought back from Greece-what was his name again?"

"Xerxes."

"Right. Anyways, we, as you humans might say, "had a sh**ty day" and landed right next to this magnificent palace. Of course, we were caught right away and sent to the dungeons because the Emperor feared we were spies."

"The same thing happened to us!"

"They separated us," said Rook.

"And what happened to Xerxes?"

"Well, they tried to force him into the cell on my left, but he resisted."

"So he's dead?!" cried Ben, shocked.

"Like many of your human fairy tales, this one has a happy ending. No, Xerxes summoned a bunch of soldiers from nowhere, overpowered the garrison, escaped the palace and has not been heard from since. Rumor has it that Xerxes is now the leader of a rival group vying for control of China. I have no idea where Kevin and Magister Tennyson are."

"So, all we have to do is escape from here and link up with Xerxes."

"That is the plan, yes."

The door opened and Gwen and Molly were shoved inside.

"Hey Ben! Hey Rook!" both said.

"What did those people do to you guys?"

"Nothing. They wanted to keep the genders separate, that's all. It kinda makes sense, in a way. We both got a shower and were allowed to change," replied Gwen.

"We didn't get a shower yet!" screamed Ben. As if on cue, the warder came back. "You guys," mentioning to Rook and Ben, "get a ten minute shower each. After that, all of you have a meeting with the Emperor." Ben and Rook left to take their showers. Afterwards, everyone was prodded to the throne room to meet the Emperor.

"All hail Emperor Qin Shi Huang, leader of the glorious Qin Empire!" cried a herald.

"I guess this is the point we all get down on our knees and perform the kow-tow?" snickered Ben.

"Ben! That's extremely offensive towards East Asians!" said Gwen.

"What is this kow-tow that you speak of?" Rook asked Gwen.

"It's a custom that East Asians have to show respect, especially to the Emperor."

"You are now required to kow-tow in front of the Emperor!" said the herald.

"Not me! I don't see why I have to!" yelled Ben.

"Just do it!" hissed Gwen, "You get beheaded if you don't!"

"The boy is refusing to do the kow-tow!" All of the soldiers gasped. "Off with his head!" yelled a few.

"No! I forbid it!" said Qin Shi Huang. "Tell me foreigner, what makes you so brave?"

"I frequently disobey rules that I see are unjust. As the reverend Martin Luther King Jr. will say exactly 2,443 years from now, "Injustice anywhere is a threat to justice everywhere!"

"I like you. Tell you what. I'll set you and all your friends free if you'll be willing to do me one small favor."

"And what's that?"

"Help me to become ruler of all of China by defeating the six rival factions."

"Deal!" Ben walked back to Gwen, Rook and Molly.

"Hold on. We can't accept his terms yet. We don't get an equal reward," hissed Gwen.

"Ask for help locating the author of that elusive book Paradox sent you to find," suggested Molly.

"And while you are at it, we should ascertain the locations of Kevin and Magister Tennyson," added Rook. Ben walked back up to the Emperor.

"I have a counter-offer," he announced.

"What? You dare scoff at my generous offering?!"

"Oh no, I would never do that!"

"Of course you wouldn't," snorted the Emperor.

"I offer to help you conquer China if you offer help us locate a book on military strategy, and tell us where the two other foreign prisoners you have are. One is chubby and white. The other is tall, skinny and can manipulate matter."

"I have no idea what book you are searching for. As for the two prisoners, I have no idea where they are. They escaped with that Greek scoundrel by the name of Xerxes."

"Surely you must know the name of the greatest military book ever written?"

"Let me think…" Thirty seconds passed.

"Ah, yes. You are referring to the _Art of War_ by Sun Tzu. Unfortunately, we do not have him. The Han do. They are our neighbor directly to the northeast."

"So, who are you guys fighting against?"

"The Han, the Wei, the Zhao, the Qi, the Chu, and the Yan."

"You'll have a unified China in no time sir. I can promise you that!"

"Good luck!"

Ben left with Rook, Gwen and Molly. After securing a luxury suite complements of Emperor Qin, the group decided on their next plan of attack.

"I say we meet up with Xerxes first. We can't take on entire armies by ourselves even with the Omnitrix," said Ben.

"That's the first time all day that you've said something logical. Anyways, we could if we knew what faction he belonged to," said Gwen.

"We could walk under a flag of truce to each of the armies," suggested Rook.

"And get our butts handed to us?" asked Molly.

"Since it is a truce, under the law, they can't attack us," said Ben.

"Right. Which group are we going to ask first?" asked Gwen.

"Let us start with the one farthest from the Qin, the Wei. It will take us the longest time to get there," said Rook.

"Anyone know where they are?" asked Gwen.

"Omnitrix, how far is it from Charlotte, North Carolina to Los Angeles, California?" asked Ben.

"Around 2,800 miles. At an average walking pace, you should get there in about 34 days," replied the Omnitrix.

"And the point of that was?" asked Gwen.

"It's about the distance we have to walk. The Wei live in the Gobi Desert."

"More than a month? Where are we going to get food and shelter?"

"Our benevolent Emperor will provide. After all, he thinks we are working for him," said Rook.

"We'll bump into the Zhao, the Chu and the Yun along the way. Let's just hope Xerxes is the leader of one of them," said Ben. After all four of them agreed on a plan, they went back to the Emperor for an update.

"So you are planning to travel to the Gobi Desert and you want me to provide you with 40 days worth of food?"

"Yes, your majesty," said Gwen.

"Consider it done. I shall also provide you with 10,000 soldiers and living accommodations."

"Thank you for being so generous," said Rook. They set off for the Gobi Desert later that night. Three weeks later, they finally ran out of food because Gwen insisted on giving some to the orphans along the way, Rook gave some to the Zhou, the Chu and the Yun to appease them and everyone ate the rest. Rook's strategy didn't work due to the fact that none of the factions liked the idea of getting a bribe to allow safe passage through their territory. As a result, the group had no choice but to fight their way past the hostile states, which they didn't like one bit. The schedule went something like this (Ben's POV):

Monday: Met up with some Zhou. Warlike tribe who refused to accept our generous gift of a week's worth of food. Pretended to accept us and proceeded to launch a surprise attack at night. Luckily, Gwen was able to shield us as we ran for our lives under a hail of fire arrows. The Zhou followed us. Lost around 100 soldiers.

Tuesday: Turned the tide as we tired the Zhou out. I went Atomix and nuked them into oblivion. Afterwards, we all agreed it was a complete waste of time and that we should've bypassed the Zhou as soon as we learned of their violent natures. Gwen gave a day's food to some "poor orphans" along the way. Afterwards, they took off their rags and we realized that we'd been duped. Guess I won't be getting any of that orange chicken back!

Sunday: Rook almost died today. It happened as we were crossing a bridge. We had made a pact with the Yun, but as we were crossing, they took out their knives and sawed off the ropes holding the bridge up. I always though those Yun looked suspicious, especially since they told us to get on the bridge first. Transformed into Ditto and split myself to catch Molly and Rook, but his hands slipped out of mine. Molly was able to catch Rook before he tumbled into the abyss. Some 600 soldiers weren't so lucky.

Wednesday: Bumped into the Chu today. Seemed pretty helpful until they built us a boat and told us to get in to cross a large body of water. Turns out they put a hole in it and the moment the boat reached the middle, it sank. We didn't know that they did it at the time and they insisted it was an accident. We set up camp for the night when suddenly Rook's plumber badge went off. Apparently, the Chu had surrounded us and were planning to offer us up as a sacrifice to their God. After some fierce hand to hand combat in which most of the soldiers given to us were killed, I finally got tired of it all and transformed into Alien X. I managed to disarm them and make them leave us alone. Gwen was hit in the leg with a poison dart and I was forced to suck out the venom. It was disgusting. Managed to pillage some food from the Chu, but it's not nearly enough.

Wednesday (2 weeks later): We entered into the Gobi Desert today. The rest of our soldiers got lost in a giant sandstorm and I think they're all dead. It's just the four of us now. My arm got infected because some sand got under the bandage. We had some disinfectant, but Gwen said it was a month expired. I still used it and it kind of worked. At least the pain is gone. Food is short, so we're limited to 1,000 calories a day. Even that's better than nothing I suppose.

Saturday (a week later): The food is gone entirely! Never before have I gone without food. I guess this is my first night.

Sunday: Spent a day without food. I guess this is what most present day North Koreans have to go through every day. It's horrible. My stomach is growling for sustenance, but I can't give it any.

Monday: Gwen collapsed from hunger and exhaustion earlier in the day. We spend turns carrying her. I hope we reach civilization soon or we're all goners! At least we still have mineral water.

Friday: Ran out of water too! Gwen breathing is extremely shallow and I'm afraid if we don't get her something soon, she's going to die!

Sunday: Held a meeting with Rook and Molly on the worsening conditions. I proposed that we eat Gwen when she dies to keep the rest of us alive. Cannibalism is sick, but what choice do we have? I'm proud to have known Gwen for 14 years.

That night: Finally reached the Wei today! Gwen's still alive. I think she heard us talking about cannibalizing her and it freaked her out, giving her the will to live. Turns out Xerxes is in change. Our first priority was getting Gwen something to eat and drink. As soon as we did, she woke up and was healthy again. So glad I didn't have to eat my cousin! We also met up with Kevin and Grandpa Max. They seem healthy for people who've been in captivity for so long. Guess the Qin didn't mistreat the either. I'll have to thank Emperor Qin later!

"So, how'd you get way out here?" asked Gwen.

"I needed a safe place to hide out where the Qin couldn't find me. The Gobi Desert was perfect. You guys were barely even able to make it out here!"

"As soon as we are rested, we need you to help us track down the_ Art of War_. It's that book Paradox told us about. I think you're familiar with it?" Ben said.

"Yes, I'm very familiar with it."

"Get some rest everybody. We've got a long journey ahead of us." Everyone dispersed for some much needed sleep.

Two days later

_Brigggg!_

Ben cracked open his eyes to see the Omnitrix watch alarm beeping. _Time to wake the others, he thought. I can't believe I actually slept for two whole days! I must be totally out of it!_

"Wake up, Rook! It's time to get the book!"

"Ben-dude, it is too early!"

"It's 11:00 in the morning. You've been out for two whole days!"

"Someone has been keeping track of the time?"

"My watch says it's been two days since I've moved my body."

"I see. Go wake the others. I will go fix us some breakfast."

"Make it edible, please?"

"I shall do my best to please your peculiar human taste-buds." Ben left to wake Gwen and Molly, who were bunking together in the other room.

"Look alive people!" Ben cried. As he entered the tent, a mysterious force hoisted him by the ankle and left him dangling from the ceiling. Molly sprang up and pointed a blaster at him.

"Hold your fire! It's me, Ben!" Gwen illumined him in purple light and discovered the truth.

"Put the gun down. It's only Ben," she told Molly. Molly holstered the weapon.

Suddenly, Ben fell down to the ground in a heap. He got back up, rubbing his ankle.

"How'd you do that?" asked Gwen. "You aren't an energy-being like me! In other words, you can't do magic!"

"I can't do your kind of magic, but I do have experience with certain nonverbal spells from the Harry Potter universe._ Levicorpus _and its counter-spell _Liberacorpus_ are one of them. "

"I see you've been studying," Gwen said with a laugh.

"You're always telling me that I'm not working to my full potential in school. This proves you wrong!" Ben replied.

"So, are we leaving?" asked Molly.

"As soon as Rook's ready with the breakfast. Xerxes is already saddled up and waiting for us. We better hurry!" shouted Ben as he left the tent. Five minutes later, everyone was settling down to buttermilk pancakes and hot sausage links.

"Where'd you get all this food, Rook?" asked Ben in between bites.

"I have been hoarding food ever since you started taking me on those weekly shopping trips to the human supermarkets."

"Eww!" screamed Ben and Gwen as they spat out the food. "You mean to tell us that this food is expired?!"

"I only hoard fresh produce, so calm yourselves. I know the difference between a ripe banana and one that is rotten." After this announcement, Ben and Gwen resumed eating.

"Anyone think the Han are going to be friendly?" asked Molly, who wasn't eating much because she complained of stomachaches.

"After what we've been through, fat chance of that," said Ben.

"They'll probably betray us, like all the other factions did," added Gwen.

Xerxes came back to badger them. "Hurry up! I don't have all day to lead an expedition you know!"

"Ok, ok! We're going!" Ben cried, exasperated. After an uneventful two weeks, they arrived back at the Qin palace. Ben went in with Xerxes to explain the situation.

"Your majesty, we have come back after defeating most of your enemies. I have brought back the "scoundrel" Xerxes. We are best buddies and I wish that you do not execute him."

"Any buddy of yours is a buddy of mine!" the Emperor cried.

"I propose that we join forces to conquer a common adversary known as the Han," said Xerxes.

"Of course! However, I ran out of soldiers helping him," the emperor pointed at Ben, "cross the desert, so you'll have to make do with your own soldiers."

"That won't be a problem." Xerxes snapped his fingers and an entire Greco Army group materialized out of thin air outside the palace walls complete with five artillery regiments, two field armies and ten mounted cavalry brigades.

"Wow!" exclaimed Ben. "You control all of this?"

"I do right now, but I'm going to need help."

"You needed help locating the book, yes?" asked the Emperor.

"I'm sure the Han have hid it somewhere deep inside their palace," said Xerxes.

"It'll be all the sweeter taking it from them then. First we crack the cell, and then we get the nuts inside!" cried Ben.

"Careful you don't bite off more than you can chew," warned Xerxes.

"I can single-handedly overcome their defense."

"We'll see."

"Then go now and don't come back until you've defeated the Han scum, pretty please?" said Qin Shi Huang. Xerxes, Ben, Gwen, Kevin, Molly and Grandpa Max left with their army shortly after dawn on Friday the 18th of November for the week long journey to the Han palace.

One week later (25th of November)-Skirmish at the Han River Bridge

"One more bridge to cross? Why are there so many of them?" asked a very frustrated Ben, who had already been forced to cross more than twenty bridges so far.

"Think about it Einstein. This is a river we're talking about," sneered Kevin. "Perhaps you can use a bridge to cross the river?"

"Well, we're not crossing that bridge without a fight! Look up ahead. There appears to be a garrison stationed just beyond the bridge, holed up in some sort of fort," said Gwen.

"Shall I bring out the catapults?" asked Xerxes.

"Not yet. Let's see if they'll be willing to surrender first. Come Gwen, I'll need you to act as a shield," said Ben. Ben and Gwen walked toward the fort (around 3 miles away) under an invisible dome. The watchman on the tower saw them and shouted.

"Halt! Who goes there, friend or foe?"

"Well, it depends. If you surrender, we can all be friends," said Ben.

"Fat chance. There are only two of you and over two hundred of us! We can easily overwhelm you! I suggest that you surrender!"

"No, I suggest that you surrender on the orders of Emperor Qin of the Qin Empire!"

"I say you are mad to think that you can intimidate us like that!"

"This is Benjamin Kirby Tennyson accompanying Gwendolyn Tennyson. We are both qualified plumber agents and you will comply with our demands or face the full might of the Omnitrix in all its glory along with some incredible magical acrobatics!"

"Excuse me? Are you threatening me sir?"

"That's for you to judge, sir. Please make the right choice and surrender. Don't make life difficult."

"I can tell you that I am not easily intimidated by this so called "Omnitrix" and its teenage wielder! Nor am I frightened of some girl who can do some enhanced back-flips!"

"I'm sorry; you have chosen the wrong choice! Fighting us was not an option. You just flunked _How to Negotiate with Someone Clearly Stronger Than you_. Thanks for playing and see you next time, if there is a next time for you!"

"You're bluffing right? I don't see your army. What are you going to fight us with? Two sticks and a stone? This fort can't be penetrated by conventional means!"

"We shall be discussing our course of action. Please refrain from any violence until we reach a decision. Then you shall be free to attempt to kill us!"

"What are we going to do, Gwen?" asked Ben.

"Let's go back and talk with Xerxes. It may be time to take out the heavy artillery!"

"Ok, you blokes! We've decided to go back and storm your fort by force!"

"Kill them! Shoot them full of arrows!" the captain of the guard roared. Archers appeared on top of the battlements and began to rain down arrows. The duo ran back to Xerxes with arrows bouncing off the shield Gwen put up.

"So, no dice?" Xerxes asked.

"Does it look like we succeeded?" replied Gwen, sarcastically, as she pointed to the fifty arrows imbedded in the shield.

"Now we go bust down the front door with a battering ram?" suggested Kevin.

"No, I have a better idea. Do you guys know what Greek fire is?"

"The fire that isn't extinguished even when doused with water?" asked Gwen.

"Exactly!"

"Brilliant mate!" exclaimed Ben. "We can burn down their fort."

"To make it easier to apply, I put the fire into jars. Just take a jar and lob it at their fortifications. The instant it touches wood, it'll start eating away at the material. However, someone needs to get close again aka "pretend to negotiate". We're out of range for the catapults to launch and it takes too much effort to wheel the catapults into position."

"I'll do it," volunteered Ben. He walked back to the fort.

"Come back to negotiate, eh? Realize that there's absolutely nothing you can do that will cause us to surrender?" sneered the captain.

"I can sing a song for you."

"And how will that help your cause?"

"Just listen and I think you'll find out!" Ben opened his mouth and began to sing:

**I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside it**

I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside it  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside it

I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside it  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside**it**

On top of the battlements, the captain snickered and ordered that the entire garrison come up to watch the spectacle. "Isn't this first rate? I get paid to sanction this kind of thing!"

"Perhaps the thing he's holding might actually help him," suggested a general.

Oh shut-up! What can a jar of dirt possibly do?"

**I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside it  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside it**

"I'm getting annoyed. Can I give the order to open fire?" pestered the general.

"No. Wait till that buffoon's done!"

**I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
And guess what's inside it  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt  
I've got a jar of dirt**

**And guess what's inside it**

"I'm done! Did that convince you?" asked Ben.

"Not in the slightest, but it was good entertainment," complemented the captain.

"Thanks. Do I get a reward or something?"

"Yeah. Your reward is 100 arrows up your bottom!" screamed the general. "Archers, open fire!" Arrows once again whizzed through the sky. Ben hurled the jar of Greek fire at the gate.

"Oh no! There goes my jar of dirt!" He cried as he ran for his life back to the other side of the river through a barrage of arrows.

"What did he throw?" asked the captain.

"His jar of dirt. I think he was bluffing. There's probably nothing in there," said the general

"Better go check it out all the same." The captain told ten soldiers to go down and clear the mess. They went down and opened the gate.

"What's this?" one soldier asked another, holding some "sand" in his hand.

"Beats me. It came from the lunatic's jar."

"Drop it! The sand could be dangerous," said the commander, running over. Just as he said this warning, the sand ignited, engulfing the ten soldiers in a fireball.

"Aggrh!" they all screamed and rolled on the ground in a vain attempt to smother the flames. When that didn't work, the soldiers ran towards the gate.

"What in God's name is going on down there?" asked the captain as he peered over the edge of the parapet. Seeing the soldiers struggling to put out the flames, he ordered the cook to upend his pot of water on them. Although the water offered some immediate relief, the fire could not be put out and the ten soldiers soon died agonizing deaths. However, the horror wasn't over just yet. One of the soldiers managed to grasp at the gate in his death throes and the wooden structure caught fire.

"Fire alert!" the general yelled.

"Send all available soldiers to put out the fire!" the captain replied. However, before anyone even got to staircase to go downstairs, the entire fort was engulfed in flames. The captain and the general scrambled to get out of the burning structure before it was too late.

"Everyone evacuate the building! I, however, go first because I'm the most important. The rest of you follow in order of rank. Good luck, you'll need it!" yelled the captain.

No one paid attention to his order in the slightest and the result was mass chaos. The captain and general ran into a fireproof room that held an emergency exit, which they escaped from. Some of the soldiers crowded onto the staircase and tried to follow them. However, the weight was too much and the staircase collapsed, spilling everyone on it into the flames below. Others, seeing that the situation was hopeless, jumped from the battlements and splattered their brains out on the ground 200 feet below. In all, 3,000 people died from the fire, collapse or jump. Three miles away, Ben saw the whole event in shock.

"I can't believe we killed 3,000 people with one jar of dirt!" he cried. Gwen buried her head in Ben's shoulder and cried.

"We're not murderers are we? It doesn't seem fair that so many people who were just following orders were killed," she managed in between sobs.

"This is war. Nothing in war is fair," Ben consoled her.

"Get over it! War isn't kind and the more you think about it, the less pain it will bring you," said Xerxes harshly. This shocked Gwen so much that she stopped crying and lifted her head off Ben.

"You can justify it anyway you like, but it still doesn't change the fact that we killed," she told Xerxes.

"We should have a moment of silence for all who died," chimed in Grandpa Max.

"I agree. It's the least we can do to show we still have humanity," said Molly.

"Do what you have to, but please make it quick. I'll be over there in that tree planning our next attack," said Xerxes. He climbed the tree and made a great show of looking away from the group.

"Let's do this," said Kevin. They all bowed their heads and held a moment of silence. For an instant, nothing but birds chirping and the wind whispering could be heard. Finally, Ben spoke up.

"I guess that does it. Let's get going."

"Right. The sooner we get the_ Art of War_ from the Han palace, the sooner all of this can be put behind us," said Max. They signaled to Xerxes that they were ready and everybody continued on their journey.

Meanwhile at the Han Palace

"My lord, a huge army is approaching this castle," said the captain.

"What? How is this possible?" asked the Han Emperor.

"We tried to stop them, sir, but they burned down our fort with some incendiary device. The entire garrison minus us was killed," said the general.

"Then you should've died with them! How dare you abandon your men?!" the Emperor raged.

"We thought that you would've wanted some advance warning of an attack. Because we escaped, we are able to do so.

"That still doesn't justify leaving behind 3,000 soldiers!"

"Think about how many you would lose if we hadn't been able to warn you in time."

"You make a good point. You'll be spared punishment," here the two cowards looked at each other in relief, "… only for the duration of the siege." The smiles quickly faded.

"Go now! Get everybody inside the castle and prepare the defenses! We need at least a day to get ready!"

The two men scrambled up off their feet and ran towards the door, eager to avoid upsetting their emperor. They bumped heads and sat down rubbing their heads.

"Idiots! Can't you guys get anything right?" The emperor asked, annoyed. When they didn't answer, he threw both his shoes at them, which prompted them to get up and run out of the door to find the herald.

"You!" they both shouted to a boy no older than twenty. The boy was so startled that he dropped his trumpet on the ground, where it shattered. Both commanders snickered cruelly.

"When you obtain a new one, go and sound the warning. Enemy forces are rapidly approaching the city and we need everyone to get inside for their own safety." The boy hurried off to the musicians shop to rent another bugle and when he finally did after much arguing with the store keeper, who thought he was using it to cause trouble, he blew the warning note. The pre-arranged sound was the signal for everyone outside the castle walls to pack up their belongings and stream into the castle where they could shelter in place until the danger passed. Hordes of farmers, their crops on their back and their families in tow flooded through the gate. The crush was so bad, soldiers had to be assigned to crowd control to makes sure the population was kept calm. Five hundred soldiers were stationed just outside the gate to keep the crowds moving. Additional soldiers guided the population into the courtyard where all the civilians were assembled. The situation was tense and soldiers were permitted to fire on anyone who was impeding progress. After five hours, the mass exodus was complete and the soldiers could begin the real task of fortifying the fortress. Teams of three hundred people each were required to haul the huge catapults up to the battlements. A giant stockpile of boulders was stationed near the center of the rooftop for easy access during the battle. Ballistae were mounted at five meter intervals along the wall, already primed with iron bolts. Mattresses were lowered behind the main gate to resist battering rams and the drawbridge was pulled up. The double portcullis chain was cut and the iron doors slammed shut behind the wooden gate. Hot oil and sand were piled next to the murder-holes, which were located directly above the iron doors. During a battle, any attackers lucky to make it inside would be trapped by the double doors and fall to a combination of oil, sand and arrows. Wooden stakes were placed on the grounds outside to deflect any potential cavalry charge. Two lines of trenches were dug to provide shelter for the defenders in the field. All able-bodied craftsmen went to work making arrows, armor, swards, crossbows, and maces. The flurry of activity lasted well into the night and no one was given much sleep. The defenders expected to be able to hold out for months until help arrived from allies. All that was left to do was to watch and wait for the attacking army.

Battle for the Imperial Palace

"Look up ahead! I see the Palace of the Han Emperor!" cried Ben as he viewed it through the spyglass.

"We have to brace ourselves for a long siege. Prepare for battle!" Xerxes ordered. The catapults were loaded and formations were rehearsed. The 1,000,000 man strong army looked impressive as it marched on the road to the Palace. Several times the Han Army sent out units to delay their advance, but the overwhelming force could not be stopped. Xerxes' army along with Ben, Gwen, Kevin, Rook, Molly and Max arrived at the outskirts of the palace on December 1st.

"Shall I go and try the same trick again?" asked Ben.

"No fool's going to fall for it again," exclaimed Kevin.

"Perhaps I can tear down the walls with my magic?" suggested Gwen.

"You'll rip out your arm sockets before you even budge a stone," warned Ben.

"I suppose this is the time to finally use my catapults. We can load them with the Greek fire and lob them over the walls. Although the castle itself is fireproof due to it being made out of stone, I bet whatever's inside isn't. We can burn their buildings to force them to surrender," cried Xerxes.

"This is for the common good, Gwen," Ben said gently. "I know you're afraid of harming more civilians, but think about how many more lives we can save back home in the present if we can just get our hands on this one book."

"All right."

"Load catapults!" 10,000 catapults were loaded with Greek fire. "FIRE ALL!" Xerxes ordered. 10,000 jars of dirt flew into the air, traveling in parabolic arcs until they impacted on the scores of buildings inside the castle. However the defenders had prepared well for exactly this kind of situation and had erected springy nets, which caught the jars of dirt and hurled them right back at the attackers! Luckily, Xerxes' Army was too far away to be hit and the Greek fire jars landed right outside the castle walls, where they started a fire that scorched the earth. The defender's catapults began firing rocks of their own and hundreds of Xerxes' men were crushed to death. Everyone ran to seek shelter under the cover of siege engines, which were brought up to scale the walls. Gradually the attackers began to gain ground. The defenders in the two trenches began to fall back to the main defense point inside the castle. From the battlements, a volley of rocks and arrows forced the attackers to hide behind portable shields. Kevin led the charge to the main gate under the cover of an armored battering ram and began to organize a breaching of the gate. The defenders fought tenaciously under extraordinary circumstances and even managed to beat back the attacks on the walls and gate for a while. Xerxes, seeing that conventional weapons were going nowhere, ordered the secret weapon to be brought out to attack the gate. It was the Mons Meg. The massive cannon could only be fired once a day and the recoil was so large that men were killed every time it was fired. Despite this powerful advantage, the cannon didn't even dent the gate, although it killed a dozen of Xerxes' men. Ben transformed into Alien X and tried to remove the castle from existence, but the castle remained untouched. Gwen tried to rip apart the walls, but only succeeded in dislocating her sockets. Ben was able to pop them back in after much pain on Gwen's part. The stalemate went on for another twenty four days, with both sides taking extreme casualties. On Christmas day, Ben decided to try something radical.

"Let's try and negotiate again?" he suggested.

"They must be running out of people almost as fast as we are. Only they can't afford to replace the casualties. I'd say now is a great time to negotiate," said Xerxes. Ben raised the white flag and walked to the gate.

"Hello! I'd like to propose a ceasefire while we negotiate. Please send your Emperor out so we can have a meaningful dialogue," he said. A minute later the Han Emperor appeared on the battlements.

"What do you want?" the Emperor asked. "We aren't surrendering, you know!"

"I didn't expect you to. Instead I offer a truce. You let us get a certain book and we won't bother you anymore."

"So all you want is a book? You could've just asked politely you know!"

"Well, negotiating didn't work well last time, so I thought we would try something a bit more convincing."

"Come in and help yourself." The Emperor ordered the gate be opened to invite in their former enemy turned guest. He personally escorted Ben to the library and insisted on helping him find the book."

"So what is the book you want?"

"It's called the_ Art of War_. I suppose you've heard of it?"

"I have. It is not here in the public library. I have it in my personal study. I can give it to you since I have renounced all war after these tragic few days."

"Thank you sir." The Emperor entered his private study and gave Ben the book.

"Use it well, now. May this book bring you as much success on the battlefield as it did for me."

"No wonder your castle was so well built and resistant to everything we threw at it! You must've followed everything the book said to do."

"Exactly." The group was invited to stay in the castle for a few days to recuperate.

The Coup

The captain and the general were quite bitter at having been embarrassed in front of their emperor and furious at him for receiving his former enemies so well while the two were forced to scrub the horse stalls as punishment for cowardice.

"I hate this life," complained the general as the horse kicked him for stealing its carrot (They had gone without food for days).

"Me too," the captain agreed as another horse defecated on him. "Eww! That's disgusting" he cried as he flung dung from his person.

"I say we launch a Coup d'état. We'll show that power hungry warlord who's really boss!" cried the general.

"Right. I'll give the Emperor a cup of poisoned wine at the dinner tonight. Once he drinks it, he'll fall down dead as a door nail and we can take over!"

"Where are we going to get the poison? No one in their right mind would sell anything to us two!"

"I know an alchemist on the outskirts of town who might be able to help us." Later that night, the two of them went to the mad alchemist and purchased a small bottle of arsenic, chosen because of its virtual odorless and tasteless complexion. They planned to slip the contents into the Emperor's cup while he was distracted.

The State Dinner

The guests arrived for the small reception held in their honor. Only Ben, Gwen, Kevin, Rook, Max and Xerxes were invited. In between bites of caviar and mussels, which were the appetizer, the Emperor told an anecdote on how he had became the leader through a lucky shot.

"So I was driving through town, and I came upon a pole on top of which sat a clay pigeon. Next to the pole was a crossbow and bolts. I asked several passerby what the meaning of this was.

"Whoever manages to shoot down the clay pigeon from its perch shall be crowned Emperor!" they said. So, I took the crossbow, placed a bolt on it and without really aiming, fired. I put down the weapon and walked away, sure that I had just wasted five minutes of my time, but people were gasping and pointing! I saw what they were pointing at and it turned out to be the clay pigeon! It was lying on the ground in pieces. Apparently I shot it down, which made me the new Emperor!

"Wow! What a great story of success!" everyone exclaimed.

"I think this occasion calls for some wine!" announced the Emperor. The captain came forward with the poisoned wine. He poured the contents into the cup and gave it to the Emperor to drink. At that moment, the Omnitrix acted of its own accord and transformed Ben into Wildmutt.

"What is it, Ben?" asked Gwen. "Is something amiss?"

Wildmutt only growled in response and moved towards the Emperor. Gwen stood up too, concerned. Rook took out his proto-tool and aimed it at Ben, afraid he had gone berserk. Just as the Emperor was about to take the first sip from the poisoned cup, Wildmutt sprang into action and knocked the goblet from his hands.

"Bad dog! What are you doing?" the Emperor exclaimed. Wildmutt transformed back into Ben.

"Someone tried to poison you," he told the Emperor. " I sniffed arsenic in that cup of yours. One sip and you would've been a goner!"

"Next time, tell me when you are going to do something. I almost shot you!" said Rook.

"Let me see that cup. I might be able to trace the fingerprints on it," said Gwen. She took the cup, closed her eyes and began to mover her hands in a circle. "Ah ha! Just as I suspected! It was the captain and the general!"

"Why would they do that?" asked Ben. "They seem pretty loyal to you," he told the Emperor.

"That was before I assigned them to work in the stalls for neglecting their post."

"We have to find them and bring them to justice!" declared Ben.

"I'm already on it," said Max. He took out a motion detector and discovered the two criminals running for their lives towards the outer perimeter.

"Close the gate!" ordered the Emperor. The two were trapped within the double doors of the portcullis. Everyone hurried to the gate.

"Well, what do you have to say for yourselves?"

"We are not afraid to die!" said both the captain and the general as they took out grenades and pulled the pins. _Protego!_ Gwen cried and a transparent shield expanded to cover the entire group. The force of the explosion cracked the shield, but the only casualties were that of the general and the captain, whose remains were scattered all over the walls.

"I guess this was enough carnage for a day," yawned the Emperor.

"Seriously, you need to keep tabs on who you trust," said Kevin.

"I sure will after this." The Emperor turned to Ben.

"Thanks for saving my life back there."

"It was nothing."

"Don't be modest Ben. We all know you to be a hero to both friends and foes!" sad Gwen with a laugh.

"You all will be leaving tomorrow, yes?" asked the Emperor.

"We stayed past what our budget would allow, so I'm afraid so," said Max.

"Enjoy your last night here, then."

"Thanks. I'm sure we will!" said Ben.

The Send-Off and a character death

The next morning, everyone woke up bright and early to pack their stuff and head back to the Qin Emperor for one last status report. Ben made sure to pack the_ Art of War_ on the very top of his knapsack. The time finally came for everyone to say goodbye.

"Thanks for everything!" cried the Emperor.

"Thank you for hosting us for a month!" replied Max.

"Read that book! You'll go far with it!" the Emperor told Ben.

"I will!"

The next two weeks passed without a hitch. The group finally arrived back at the Qin Palace in February. They were immediately brought to see the Emperor.

"So, did you finally defeat all the other factions?" Qin Shi Huang asked.

"We did, except for the Han," Gwen said.

"Why? You promised me you would."

"Turns out that the Han Emperor was a nice guy who let us have the book we wanted without too much of a struggle. So, we let him off." At this the Emperor flew into a rage and took out his sword, preparing to behead Gwen to set an example. Rook quickly stepped in front of her and blocked the strike with his proto-tool.

"Whoa! Calm down man! You'll hurt yourself if you're not careful!" said Ben.

"Did you realize that I was the true enemy all along? Ever wonder why I gave you all those soldiers and equipment? It was so you could fight all my battles for me! Now that you have, I have no further use for you!" The Emperor took out a pistol and shot Gwen once point-blank in the chest before she had time to block it. Gwen staggered sideways, gasped once and collapsed on the floor, her front covered in blood. The Emperor laughed and ran away, carrying the blood-smeared weapon, followed closely by Ben, Rook, Kevin, and Grandpa Max. Xerxes was standing outside the front gate, wondering what the strange foot race was about. Then he heard Ben shout.

"Stop that man! He shot Gwen!"

Xerxes quickly stepped in front of the Emperor, who very nearly escaped.

"Step aside if you value your life!" the Emperor snarled.

"No."

"Excuse me?"

"I'm not sure why my friends are chasing you, but I'm sure it's for something you did. As such, you can't leave until you've been held accountable for your crime."

"I'm not accountable to anyone. Now step aside or I'll clobber you! This is your last warning!"

When Xerxes wouldn't move, Emperor Qin tried to pistol-whip him. Xerxes quickly stepped aside so the blow only glanced off his skull. Then he used the Emperor's momentum against him and grabbed the gun with both hands, pried it from the Emperor's hands and pointed it at him.

"I surrender, I surrender!" screamed the Emperor.

"I wonder what you did when your prisoners begged for mercy. I suppose we'll find out soon enough."

"You can't shoot me! I'm a prisoner of war and you must treat me humanely!"

"Then I'll make this as quick and painless as possible." Xerxes aimed and fired a single shot into the Emperor's forehead. The Emperor pitched forward, dead. The rest of the gang arrived shortly afterwards.

"You killed him?" Ben asked.

"Yeah. He was too dangerous to be kept alive. He had this gun with someone's blood in it. Was someone shot?"

"Gwen was," Ben said sadly.

"Where?"

"Once, point-black in the chest."

"Is she still alive?"

"Yes, but we're losing her fast!" At this, everyone ran back to the palace. Molly was cradling Gwen in her arms. Xerxes made a surprise announcement.

"I'm going to make this quick since I realize you have a bit of an emergency on your hands. I've decided to stay here in China and become the new ruler. However, since I was in the 22nd century briefly, I learned the secrets of immortality. If you ever come back in the future, just stop by. I'll probably still be around!" Gwen remained motionless on the floor.

"Quick! We have to get her to the real world!" cried Max.

"Paradox! We need you to open the time portal stat!" Ben shouted. "Gwen's been shot!"

Paradox complied at once and the team was transported back to the UN building. Gwen wasn't looking too good. Every second, more blood pooled around her body. Her pulse was erratic and weak.

"Quick! Get her clothes off and start CPR while I call the fire department!" Grandpa Max ordered. Ben and Kevin stripped off Gwen's clothing and took turns giving her chest compressions and rescue breaths. Once her heartbeat grew stronger, they applied a standard field dressing to stop further bleeding. They put her clothes back on.

"I've got the ambulance on its way!" Max reported.

"It'll be too late for that. By the time they get here, she'll be long gone." Molly said.

"I know of a way, but it requires extreme luck," said Ben.

"You don't mean Alien X?" said Kevin, shocked.

"It's our only chance of saving her."

Ben transformed into Alien X and tried to convince Bellicus and Serena to help him.

"Help me right now and I promise to listen to your arguments in the future, ok?" Ben pleaded.

"We aren't finished discussing the outcome of WWIII," said Bellicus.

"My cousin is dying, dammit!"

"Watch your language, Ben dear. If you want us to help you, you'll have to ask nicely. Please and thank you should work," said Serena.

"Fine!" Ben yelled, extremely pissed off. "My cousin got shot by a lunatic and she's dying right now. I need you help to save her. Can you do that for me, please?"

"See what happens when you ask nicely? The whole process becomes much more streamlined. I vote that we vote on Ben's proposal for us to intervene to prevent his precious cousin's death," said Serena.

" I second," grumbled Bellicus.

"Great! So can we go save her now?"

"We'll consider it."

"What?! We need to act right now!"

"Request denied. We won't be saving her. You're on your own, kid," Bellicus told Ben.

"I can't believe I got you two as parts of my most powerful alien! You guys aren't even reliable!"

"Leave us and return to the human world," Bellicus boomed. Ben complied.

"Sorry guys, Serena and Bellicus won't intervene."

"So we watch her die?"

"That's all what we can do."

Gwen stirred. "Oh great. I'm dying!"

"Ben tried to go Alien X, but he couldn't get Serena and Bellicus to agree to save you," said Kevin.

"Will dying hurt?"

"No. All you'll get is a floating sensation and then you'll just leave," said Max as he tried to hold back tears.

"Come back Gwen! I never told you I was in love with you!" cried Kevin.

"I always suspected that," Gwen told him.

"Goodbye Ms. Tennyson. It was a pleasure working with you," said Rook.

"I'll miss your smart- alack remarks," said Molly.

Lastly, Gwen turned to Ben. "Anything you have to say before I go?"

"Gwen, you are the most amazing person in my life. Even though we had our differences, you were always there for me when I needed it. I especially remember those childhood squabbles fondly. We would have arguments, but would always make up in the end. You'll always be my smart, athletic, beautiful and slightly annoying cousin. Thank you for the years of joy we shared together. You weren't only my favorite cousin; you were also my best friend."

Ben kissed Gwen on the hand for the last time. Gwen smiled at him and closed her eyes forever.

"Now she belongs to the ages!" Paradox declared.

Tears streamed down Ben's face as he howled and pounded the floor. Everyone knew the cousins were close, but they hadn't expected anything quite like this. Suddenly, Ben slammed on the Omnitrix and transformed back into Alien X.

"What have you got to say for yourselves?" he demanded of Serena and Bellicus.

"Um, we're sorry for your loss," they both said.

"I just lost a cousin! That's all you're going to say?!"

"That's about right. I'm not going to stoop down to your level," Bellicus said.

"I have a feeling you're going through quite a bit of emotional stress, am I right?" asked Serena.

"Yes I am," said Ben.

"And you're seriously contemplating suicide because you can't bear to live without your cousin?" she pressed.

"I was about to say I was going to deliberately provoke the police into shooting me, so yes."

"Good, good. Go off yourself right now so I can be rid of you!" boomed Bellicus.

"You do realize that our little discussions with young Tennyson will come to an end right?" Serena told Bellicus.

"And why in the world should I care?"

"We won't exist without Ben. The Omnitrix is fused with Ben's DNA, so if he goes, so do we."

"I never thought about that." Serena turned to Ben.

"For the first time, I think there is something we can all agree on."

"And what is that exactly?" Ben asked.

"You can't live without your cousin and we can't live without you, so we're going to grant you your wish."

"So you'll bring my cousin back to life?"

"Yeah. I'm doing solely because I can't operate without you and not because I care about your feelings," grumbled Bellicus.

"Your act of dedication convinced me Ben. Your ability to love can conquer death," Serena told Ben.

"Let's get this over with. All in favor of bringing Ben's cousin back to life say 'aye'"

"Aye!" everyone said. Bellicus and Serena worked their magic and reversed the space-time continuum, which brought Gwen back to life without a wound.

Gwen opened her eyes. "Wasn't I just dead? Is that why everyone's staring at me?"

Ben offered her a hand up and she accepted it. "You were dead, but I gave all I had to bring you back to life."

"Hey! Budge over will you?" butted in Kevin. "She accepted my proposal just before she died and now that she came back to life, we're a couple!"

"Now we're just officially dating! Marriage is a long ways off for me!" Gwen warned.

"Celebration at Mr. Smoothy!" yelled Ben.

"We can't. Mr. Smoothy's only in North America, remember doofus?" Gwen said playfully as she gave him a shove with her magic.

"Ah, the old Gwen is back!" Ben sighed happily.

Arm in arm, everyone went to McDonalds to order off the dollar menu.

"I wonder where we're going to go next." Ben said aloud, but almost to himself.

How'd you like it? Emperor Qin was on LSD so that's why he was such an unpredictable character. This is my longest chapter yet (almost as long as my previous 5 chapters combined!) Review please!


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